Slave
by xXShadowFiendXx
Summary: AU, yaoi. Follow the story of Prince Sanji and his 'pet,' Roronoa Zoro, on their incredibly stupid journey towards love.TEMPORARILY ON HIATUS.
1. Happy Birthday

Prince Sanji grinned lazily as he stretched out the kinks in his back. He yawned, covering his mouth and stepped out of the cover of his bed onto the cold marble floor. He went into the bathroom where the maids had already prepared a bath and got ready for the day. As he exited, he pulled on his undergarments and waited for the maids to help him dress.

He wore an intricate blue tunic over deep blue tights and brown boots. A blue cape was placed on his back and a small silver circlet was set on his shiny blond hair. He smiled at the maids and thanked them over-zealously for their help; saying how thankful he was to have two beautiful angels to help him dress in the morning.

He left his chambers and glided down the hall with a commanding air about him. Prince Sanji was especially happy today, for it was his nineteenth birthday. And as such, he was going to get a slave. That's where our handsome prince was headed, the slave market. He entered a carriage, drawn by two white horses and a black haired, chocolate eyed slave by the name of Luffy.

He didn't act like a slave, more like a young lord, spoiled by the women of the castle for his innocent looks and charming attitude. "G'morning, Prince Sanji!" The boy shouted, waving. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Luffy. Take me to town." He commanded.

"ON IT!" He yelled, snapping the reigns and causing the horses to trot steadily forward.

Sanji began thinking about the kind of slave he wanted. A strong one, that was definite. A man, there was no way he would treat a woman in such a manner. Handsome, too, didn't want an ugly slave. He mulled over the possibilities. As he was deep in thought, he didn't hear Luffy yell that they had arrived at their destination, so he was thrown forward as the carriage stopped.

Regaining his composure, he exited the carriage and headed into the building, after giving Luffy explicit orders not to go anywhere. He approached a large man with the longest earlobes Sanji had ever seen in his entire life.

The man bowed, his earlobes almost brushing the floor. "Prince Sanji, what and honor. We were expecting your arrival and have prepared the slaves to be shown." He started walking. "Please, follow me." (1)

They walked down a large hallway and entered a large area with slaves lined up. Eneru had Sanji stand in one area and wait as he introduced each slave. First came a beautiful mergirl by the name of Caimie, next a strange man with a large nose and an even larger temper, among many others. None satisfied the prince.

"This is our last slave, he's isn't very friendly. And he's also dangerous."

A tanned man came out, hands chained behind his back and his head down. He was in terrible condition, burn marks and scars covered his body, as did dirt. He looked like he once had muscles, but they had shrunk from lack of use. He smelled horribly of feces and burning skin. His green hair was matted with dirt and blood. His furry green ears were laying flat and his tail hung low. His bones stuck out from malnourishment and Sanji could count each one of his ribs. He was a Lycan, that Sanji was sure of.

"We don't know his name, he won't tell us." Eneru explained.

The Lycan looked up, his dark green eyes smoldering. He swung his head at the slave master, only to drop to one knee as he was electrocuted. He swung his head again, his other knee joining the first on the ground. He lunged and sunk his sharp teeth into the man's leg, drawing blood and earning another shock. He fell to the ground, once there; he kicked out his leg at Eneru, being shocked once again.

Sanji was horrified, the creature was putting up a huge fight, it could be killed. The green haired wolf man thrust his leg out again, and was rewarded with an even more powerful shock. Curling into the fetal position it lay on the ground, shaking as the electricity coursed through him.

"I'll take him." Sanji said, causing the green eyed beast to look up at him and growl. The only part of his body that had moved was the eyes, giving him a truly wild look.

This time he swung his leg out at Sanji, and Eneru shocked him again. Sanji kicked the remote away from the man. "Stop electrocuting him." He ordered.

"I don't need your protection." It growled from the floor.

Sanji raised a curled eyebrow and kicked him in the base of the tail, eliciting a small whimper from the man on the ground. "Don't speak to me like that, I'm a prince."

The man of the ground scoffed, spitting Eneru's blood out, "Prince of what, Retardia?"

Sanji kicked him again, and then he clipped a chain around the man's collar and dragged him out, raising dust and causing the slave to hiss as his wounds scrapped the earth. He sighed and hoisted the beast onto its feet. It stumbled after him and growled as the sunlight hit his eyes.

"Wait, Prince Sanji. He had three very nice swords with him when he was captured, do you want them?" Eneru asked as he ran up to the prince with three katana in his arms.

"Yeah, I'll take them." He replied, noticing the longing look in the slave's eyes as it stared at the swords.

"Is that your new slave?" Luffy asked excitedly. "What's his name?"

"Don't know, he didn't say." Sanji shrugged and shoved the Lycan into the carriage after handing the swords to Luffy, which might not have been smart.

"He looks like crap." Luffy stated bluntly. A snarl was heard from the interior of the cart, frightening the horses. The brunette calmed them down quickly and Sanji joined his new pet in the wagon.

In the cart, Sanji took more time to examine the Lycan. His eyes had dark shadows under them and he looked exhausted, he had multiple bruises as well and winced every time the carriage hit a bump. He had three gold earrings in his left ear; they shined even though the rest of him was covered in grime. The prince opened a window, not being able to stand the smell coming from the other male. First things first, the wolf man was getting a bath the minute they entered the palace.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"None of your business."

"I think it is my business, I'm your master. And if you don't want me calling you 'Marimo,' you'd better tell me your name."

"Roronoa Zoro, former prince of the Shimoshiki Clan."

**(1)I made Eneru the slave master dude because he has a freaky God complex and uses electricity. So I figured he'd be the kind of guy to electrocute the slaves as punishment. And stupid FF won't let me indent my paragraphs! D:  
**


	2. Doctor Visit

"Roronoa Zoro, former prince of the Shimoshiki Clan." He answered, drawing his injured body up to its full height. Even in his horrid condition, the slave managed to look imposing and powerful.

"You, a prince?" Sanji exclaimed in disbelief. Then he doubled over in laughter.

Zoro growled, his 'master' was an arrogant prick. His dirt matted tail swished in annoyance. "I gave myself up for them. I was a much better prince than you'll ever be." He spat out, disgusted at the seemingly shallow man next to him.

Sanji glared at the Lycan. "How do_ you_ know what kind of prince I am?"

"You just got a malnourished slave that smells like burning flesh, dry blood, and piss, who you constantly kick the shit out of while he still can't defend himself. " he answered dryly, lifting an eyebrow and then wincing when he irritated a cut on his brow.

Sanji had to admit, Zoro put up a good argument. "Okay, fine, so I have a slave. I'm not going to treat you badly as long as you show me some respect, got it? And as soon as we get to the palace, you're taking a long bath and seeing the doctor."

"I'll take care of my own wounds." The green furred man growled.

"Yeah, because you're doing such a good job of it. I think that most of them are infected." He poked one roughly for emphasis, causing a low whine to escape his slave. _That was kinda cute… wait, what? I did _not_ just call another man cute! NO!_

"It's not like I _could_ take care of them. I was living in my own shit for two years." He spat, looking out the window, or more like trying to burn holes in it.

"Why did they treat you so badly compared to the other slaves?"

"Why do you think, Shit Head? I'm dangerous." He grunted the answer out and then grunted again as Sanji kicked him. "Will you quit kicking me? Fuck, the minute I get my swords, you are so dead." _Or you _would_ be if it weren't for this stupid collar._ He was kicked again.

On the way back to the palace, which was much longer considering the traffic, Sanji heard a light snoring. He turned his head and stared at the sleeping figure of Zoro; face pressed against the glass window, mouth parted slightly, and body twitching as he dreamed. _Probably chasing rabbits._ Sanji thought amusedly.

They got to the palace and Sanji exited the carriage. He walked around to the other side and roughly opened the door, causing a mess of dirt, blood, skin, and green fur to spill onto the ground. The man on the floor woke with a startled grunt and a bark of pain as one of his worse off wounds met the hard stone.

Sanji yanked the leash and Zoro stood, ambling after his master, ignoring the looks from the servants. (1) They walked down the halls, going through a complicated series of twists and turns. Zoro was sure if the blond man had not been leading him he would have been lost in a second. (2)

They got to a large wooden door that said 'Doctor Chopper' on a gold plaque. Zoro started struggling.

"What?" Sanji ground out, irritated.

"I'm not seeing any doctor named 'Chopper,' I'd have to be an idiot."

"Relax, Chopper's about the least dangerous guy I know." He grew tired of the struggling and hoisted the slave into his arms, with much protesting, and carried him into the room. "Hey, doctor, I got you a new patient!" He called, flinging Zoro unceremoniously onto the bed.

Zoro grumbled as his body hit the mattress, the smooth cloth felt strangely scratchy against his rough skin. (3) He looked up as a small door opened and a deer came out. Primal instincts taking over, he snarled, lunging at the small creature. It squeaked in surprised, as did he as a shoe sent him flying across the room into a table full of medical supplies, a scalpel cutting his already destroyed skin and a roll of bandages falling to hit him on the head.

"What are you doing, you moss-headed idiot?" The prince bellowed, stalking over to his slave who spit out a little blood, having bit himself on the cheek.

"Sorry, instinct." He muttered, standing.

The little deer ran towards him and suddenly turned into a huge man.

"WHAT THE?" Zoro exclaimed as the man deer thing hefted him into its large hairy arms and set him gently on the bed.

"I have the ability to change forms. I'm primarily a reindeer." He explained in a very squeaky voice.

"Oh… Sorry I tried to eat you…" Zoro said, looking up at the deer.

"It's fine. I understand. What I don't understand is why you're in such a horrible condition."

"Um… Bastards?" He supplied as an answer, watching with mild fascination as the deer turned small again and began prodding his wounds.

"I think I'm going to have to ask you to bathe before I treat your wounds. I might faint from the smell, otherwise."

Zoro blushed. He knew that he smelled like the wrong end of a dead cow, but still. He and Sanji followed Chopper into another room; this one had a tub with a shower head among other things used for bathing and the like.

Chopper left but Sanji stayed. Looking around the room, Zoro waited for him to follow the pink hatted doctor. The blond prince just looked around the room as well, messing with a few things. He dropped a bottle of shampoo on accident and after putting it back, he decided to follow the 'look but don't touch' policy.

The green furred Lycan had enough. "Do you need something, or are you gonna leave so I can bathe?" He asked irritably.

Sanji raised a curly eyebrow. "I think it would be better if I stayed in here."

**I put fromt eh toher earlier, but I fixed it. :D **

**He'd be lost in a second if he were going into the next room.**

**If you have rough skin, really soft fabrics like silk feel scratchy, I don't like it.**

**Wow, two chapters, tell me if you want me to continue. :D**


	3. Bath Time

Sanji raised a curly eyebrow. "I think it would be better if I stayed in here."

"Excuse me?" Zoro asked, incredulous. "You want to _stay_ while I _bathe_."

Sanji nodded, examining his perfectly manicured nails. "I need to make sure you don't try to escape."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm really not in any condition to escape. Besides, where would I go? The Shimoshiki clan is nomadic, we're never in one place for very long and we almost never return to any of the places we've been. I've been gone for two years, so I wouldn't be able to find them, anyway." He looked at the prince. "Hey, where'd you put my swords?"

"You can have 'em back later… If you're a good pet."

"I'm not a pet!" The Lycan snarled, baring his fangs.

"Pet sounds better than slave, so that's what you are."

"Calling me your pet makes you sound gay." Zoro retorted.

"I'm _not_ gay. I got a male slave because I would never treat a woman with such disrespect."

"Okay, whatever. Now get out of here so I can bathe. I'm tired of smelling like a dead cow's ass." He wrinkled his nose. Two years of smelling like that and he still wasn't used to it.

"How about if I just turn around?" He bargained. "I don't trust you enough to leave you on your own."

"Fine, but if you peek I'll rip your intestines out and jump rope with 'em."

"Don't threaten me. And now _you _sound gay, 'jump rope?'"

"Shut up." Zoro growled. "And turn the fuck around already." To emphasize his point the tanned man (1) started to undo what was left of his tattered pants.

Sanji turned around at started humming. He heard a hiss as Zoro lowered his battered body into the warm water (2).

Zoro scrubbed his body with a washcloth covered in suds. He washed around the open wounds and dunked them under quickly to make sure no soap got in them. He scoured vigorously at the small amounts of undamaged skin and lightly at the bruised parts. Zoro kept scrubbing until his skin was raw and reached for the shampoo.

Pouring a generous amount into his palm, he rubbed his hands together before he ran the through his hair, fingers getting snagged in the tangles. He made sure not to get soap in his ears and didn't stop scrubbing his hair until he was sure it was free of any of the disgusting mess that was previously in it. Zoro dunked his head under the water to rid his hair of the suds and drained the tub.

He turned on the shower head so he could get rid of any dirt left on his body after bathing in the now filthy water. As soon as he was certain of his cleanliness, he stepped out and tied a towel around his hips and threw another over his shoulders. He used the shoulder towel to dry his hair and then most of his upper body.

At a loss for what to do about clothes, he turned to Sanji only to find him watching. "Hey, you said you were gonna turn around!" He growled, slightly embarrassed and greatly annoyed.

"I got bored." The cocky prince stated matter-o-factly.

Zoro growled again. "What do I do about clothes? I'm not putting those shitty pants back on."

"We'll figure out something." He answered, leading the other male out of the bathroom to where Chopper was waiting.

"Oh good, let's take a look at those wounds now." Chopper clapped his hooves together and led the Lycan to the bed. Zoro sat down and removed the towel from his shoulders. "What are all these scars from?" He asked, worriedly.

"Sword fights." He answered. "And the two on my shins are from where I got caught in a hunter's trap and tried to cut my legs off."

Sanji and Chopper stared at the man on the bed who had stated that so calmly like he was insane.

"Okay… well, let's take care of the non-infected wounds first." The small deer jumped onto the bed beside the Lycan and started sniffing wounds before cleaning and wrapping the ones that weren't infected.

(The next paragraphs might be a little hard to read for the squeamish)

When he got to the infected ones, which were hot, red, and puss filled, he soaked them in a very hot disinfectant solution for about fifteen minutes and sterilized a pair of tweezers. He pried the wounds open with the tweezers and started draining the puss, wiping it up with sterile gauze. He started probing deeper into the cut, looking for more pockets of puss and draining the ones he came across.

Once all the wounds were puss free, he had to soak them in more disinfectant for about half an hour. No one really said anything during this time as Zoro prodded at one of his bruises. Chopper dried the wounds with more sterile gauze and spread antibacterial ointment on them. He placed more gauze inside the wounds, he couldn't have them closing up while they might still be infected, and dressed them.

(Okay, nasty parts are over.)

"Okay, you're going to have to soak them for about thirty minutes, three times a day, and put fresh bandages on them. You can come back here if you think you'll need help. None of the infections spread, which was pretty lucky, so I don't have to worry about that. Um, are you going to care if they scar?"

"Couldn't care less, actually."

"Then let me treat the burn wounds. I'm really amazed. None of your infections spread and you didn't get dehydrated or hypothermia from the burns. And actually, most of the burns are pretty minor."

"I'm just lucky that way; I've been through about twenty near death experiences that would have killed other people."

"Damn, are you some sort of super-Lycan or something?" Sanji asked. "Or, maybe you're too stupid to die."

"How can you be too stupid to die?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're so stupid that your brain won't acknowledge that you should be dead."

"You're stupid." Zoro muttered as his only comeback, watching the doctor treat his wounds.

The burns were soaked in cold water and then covered in lotion. Once moisturized, they were wrapped loosely in gauze.

"Well, you're all patched up, unless you have any broken bones," Zoro shook his head at this, "the bruises will heal on their own so you're free to go." The tiny doctor clapped Zoro on the back.

Zoro followed Sanji until they came to the kitchen. "Well, Shithead, what do you want to eat?"

**(1)Yes, I've realized that if Zoro were in captivity for two years, he wouldn't have a tan anymore, but let's just pretend.**

**(2)Yay! Magic bath that's ready as soon as someone gets in the tub!**


	4. Lunch Time

**Author's Note: ****Oh man, I'm gonna fangirl here for a second: my idol on FF, the Wandering Swordsman, added this story to her favorites, reviewed all three chapters, and put it on her story alert! So, Wandering Swordsman, if you're reading this, sorry that I'm a rabid fan and I hope you update 'Heart' soon. Also, does anyone have ideas for what I can have Ace and Smoker do? Cause I got nothing.**

**Replies****:**

**looky: Thanks. I thought that the descriptions were kinda lame, actually, so it's nice to know they're appreciated. (:**

**: Sorry to say, but I have no clue what Celestial Dragon you're talking about. I'm glad you like the story, though. And thank you for giving me permission to keep writing my story. Jk.**

**The Wandering Swordsman: Thank you for the alert and fav! It made me really happy when I saw it in my inbox. Also, thanks for reviewing all of the chapters. Eneru's not a **_**sex**_** slave master, he sells all kinds of slaves! And yes; it is a weird grammatical error, Sanji is a perv, and he's also a perv in denial. **

**HappyMe_O: I'm glad I have your attention then. And I'm also glad that you liked all the chapters.**

**verunder: I know it's strange, I based this story off of a dream I had. I'm glad you like it, though. Thanks for the fav!**

**cb: Yeah, he's watching Zoro because he can't get away with watching any cannon females. They'd all kill him. And, Zoro doesn't think being called a pet is cute, so I'm glad you do! (:**

**Also, thanks to BleachLover1521, mm345, abbylee95, Reddy-chan, INUKI12,Midnight Ghost, and Densetsu-Chan for the favs/alerts!**

**On to the story!**

Zoro followed Sanji until they came to the kitchen. "Well, Shithead, what do you want to eat?"

He shrugged. "Meat. Lots of meat." Zoro decided he needed to start packing on the pounds… and that Shithead was one of his new names, whatever.

"Well, you're getting vegetables too. It's bad for your digestive system if you don't."

"I have the digestive track of a carnivore. I don't need vegetables." He replied, watching from his seat at the counter as the prince puttered around the kitchen. (1)

"I don't care, you're getting 'em anyway." The blond replied as he pulled things from the ice chest.

Zoro picked at the loose black pants under his tunic, also loose and black, and stared in mild fascination as the blond started chopping beef into strips. "I didn't know princes learned to cook."

"They usually don't, I just really like cooking. Technically, I'm not supposed to, but the chefs and other slaves don't let my parents know." He answered as he set the beef aside and started chopping red bell pepper into strips as well.

"What're ya makin'?" He asked, wanting to know what was going into his stomach.

"Beef Stir-fry. It's good, you'll like it."

"Hello, Prince Sanji, who's this?" A feminine voice asked from the doorway.

Zoro turned his head and saw a dark skinned woman with black hair and ice blue eyes. She was in a purple dress that was tight and laced at the top and loose at the bottom and a white, fur trimmed floor length jacket over that. He could see boots and a pair of pants peeking out from under the dress. The woman looked very intelligent and Zoro figured that she could hold her own in a fight; physical or mental.

"Hello, my beautiful Lady Robin! You're beauty never ceases to amaze me! You outshine the graceful bird you were named for!" The blond swooned. (2)

Zoro stared, slack-jawed. The man who could actually _hurt_ him just turned into a blob of drooling jelly at the sight of a pair of boobs. How pathetic.

Robin turned to him and smiled. "Hello, and you are?"

"Zoro…" He answered; her smile kind of psyched him out.

"Zoro! Be polite when you speak to this angelic being!" He scolded. "Lady Robin, I'm so very sorry for my slave's disrespect, he's just and idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot, you skirt slave!" Zoro barked, glaring at his 'master.'

"Says the man who tried to cut his own legs off."

"I got caught in a hunter's trap. I needed out, and that was the only way I could think off. Besides, I got out eventually. And I _kept my legs._" To emphasize his point, he kicked at the man in front of him with a black booted foot.

Sanji retaliated by kicking the bar stool out from under the Lycan, who crashed ungracefully to the floor. He growled and lunged at the slightly taller man but dropped to the floor before he could reach him.

"Dammit! I hate this collar!" He growled, clawing at it even though it felt like it wasn't even there.

"Oh, that's a slave collar. Made by faeries, I believe." Robin said, leaning down to inspect it while Sanji walked around the counter to continue on his dish. "Faeries put these on their enemies so that they cannot attack them and become their slave. And the one wearing the collar cannot take it off because they cannot feel it. Very interesting… Where did the slave master get this?"(3)

"From some faerie lady that came by the slave market. She didn't want me but gave them the collar because I nearly broke out three times."

"Well, if I could remove it I would, but the only person who can take it off is the one who put it on you." Robin stated apologetically.

Zoro grunted in reply and stood, brushing himself off and getting back on the stool once he righted it. His green eyes darted around the room. He noticed the slave from the carriage sneaking into the room.

"SANJIII! I want meeaaaat!" The brunet yelled as he practically flew across the room only to stop as Zoro clothes-lined his neck. "Ow!" The boy yelled and whatever he was going to say next was cut off as he started coughing.

Zoro watched the boy, no one had seemed to care that the Lycan just made him choke. The boy recovered quickly enough and jumped onto the stool beside Zoro.

"Hey, you're that slave from earlier, right? My names Luffy, I like meat and games."

"Uh… Zoro, I like meat… and swords." He replied, figuring that he was supposed to introduce himself in the same fashion.

"Eat up, Wolfy." Sanji commanded as he set a steaming plate of beef stir-fry on top of white rice onto the counter.

"MEAT!" Luffy yelled and lunged for it, stopped by a tan fist and a booted foot.

Zoro growled at the smaller male and removed his fist from his face. He picked up a fork and started eating, letting out a warning growl when Luffy tried to get the meat. He was finished in a few minutes. No matter how hungry he was, Sanji seemed like the kind of guy who would kick him for bad table manners.

"You want more?" Sanji asked, Zoro nodded and the blond filled his plate up.

Zoro snarfed it down at a reasonable pace. Luffy watched, a waterfall of drool coming from his mouth.

"Sanji~ I want meat~" The boy whined, giving the prince puppy dog eyes. Zoro was jealous, he was an actual canine and the only thing he ever succeeded in doing while attempting those eyes was to look constipated.

About twenty plates later, the other three occupants of the room were staring at Zoro in amazement. He looked up and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You can eat a lot! Almost as much as me! We should have an eating contest, shishishi!" Luffy laughed, eating his own meat.

Sanji kicked him in the head. "No talking with your mouth full, shithead!" He growled.

Zoro chuckled, he was right on the nose about the blond prince; picky about table manners and arrogant.

"What are you laughing at, mossy?"

"Mossy?" Zoro's eye twitched.

"Your head looks like a big moss ball."

"Your eyebrow looks like a dartboard!"Zoro retaliated.

Robin decided it would be good to intervene before the fight escalated and Zoro got hurt; only because of his collar. Lycan's could hold their own in a fight. "Tell me, Zoro, do you like to read?"

"I never learned." He replied, not embarrassed in the slightest.

"… Well, I'm not having a retarded slave; you're going to learn how to read." Sanji commanded. "If it's alright with the lovely Lady Robin, you can start learning with her while I'm busy doing my job every day."

"Of course it's okay with me, Prince Sanji." Robin said, smiling.

"Oi," Zoro raised a hand, "don't I get a say in this?"

"No." Sanji replied. "You'll start in the morning."

"Jerk…"

** Um, don't ask me why I stopped it there, it seemed long enough. Just so you know, I type this as I come up with it, so ideas are appreciated. And I'm gonna try and update on Saturdays, okay? Wow, this is the first multi chapter thing I've started and gotten past chapter two. How sad is that?**

**(1)I like the word 'puttered'**

**(2)Please forgive the fact that I can't write Sanji's noodleness! Or Luffy for that matter, Zoro is so much easier cause I act more like him personality wise. XD**

**(3)I think I read about a collar like that in some book or something. I don't know… It's weird.**


	5. Lesson One: The Alphabet

**Yay! Chapter five! Wow, I'm on a role! Okay, so, we're finally getting a plot! Ooooh, Shadow made a story with a plot! It's the Apocalypse! I'm watching George Lopez while I type this. :D He makes me want to me Latino. I'm just a pasty white Goth chick. Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, my computer was being a bitch and closing down word and freezing every time I tried to open the file. **

**Review replies:**

**Midnight Ghost: I know I can call it the noodle dance. That's why I did. (:**

**Laptop Newbie: Thank you for reviewing all four chapters and don't worry, I decided that there will be violence in later chapters. Starting with chapter seven. There's gonna be a really horribly lame fight scene.**

**The Wandering Swordsman: You're welcome, I can't wait for the update, thanks; I based Robin's outfit off of one in the show. I think it was her Miss All-Sunday outfit. He said his name so easily because he didn't want to face the wrath of Sanji's Noodle Dance Attack, and thank you because I thought my noodleness writing was lame. Luffy is cute. Sorry, but the collar is gonna go, but he gets a new one! And yeah, Smart Zoro is sexy. :D**

**And thanks to everyone who added this to favs or alerts. Sorry, but my inbox was a jerk and deleted all my emails. **

**On with the story!**

Zoro walked into the large library after finishing off his fifth bottle of sake. (1) He was pretty sure drinks weren't allowed even though he'd never seen the inside of an actual library before. Sanji had been against giving him alcohol at first, didn't want to face the wrath of the tiny doctor. Also, he said he didn't want Zoro drinking until everyone looked like Tom Selleck, whoever that was. (2)

As he started walking through the large bookshelves, slightly daunted, he started imagining all sorts of scenarios. Sanji could get mad at him for stealing sake and kick the bookshelves over on him… Okay, he was being silly. Sanji wouldn't do that. He guessed that the blond sort of respected him. He actually got a real bed. Zoro had decided that he sort of respected the curly-browed noodle man. Not when he was acting like a noodle though.

Zoro shook his furry ears, listening to his earrings chime, and started walking again. He realized that he was lost. _Shit, what were the directions, forward… then a right… then a… left? Ah, fuck it. If I walk around long enough I'll get there._ He started exploring the library, trying to comprehend the words on the book' binding, he couldn't. He only knew how to spell his own name. So he recognized the letters z, o, r, n, and a.

After he was about thirty minutes late, he finally found Robin sitting at a table in the corner of the library. She smiled when she saw him. "Zoro, I was beginning to think you were lost." Zoro coughed and blushed a little, trying to hide it behind his hand. "You did get lost, didn't you?" She stated more than asked.

"I'm… uh… geographically challenged, yeah, that's it."(3) _That sounds good._ He thought to himself, glad to have come up with something like that with more syllables that his surname. Roronoa and geographically where about the biggest words he knew.

"Of course you are, Zoro."

He grumbled and sat down at the table, examining the neatly stacked papers and pencils laid down in lines, placed next to each other very precisely. Zoro was almost afraid to pick one up. Almost being the key word.

"Well, to start off, do you know any letters?"

"I can spell my name."

"Okay, good. We'll start with that." She pushed a sheet of paper towards him and he picked up the pencil.

He leaned forward and started writing meticulously, tongue stuck out in concentration. R-O-R-N-O-A Z-O-R-O was spelled out in large block print. He wasn't that great at writing and felt a little foolish in front of someone who was obviously very, very smart.

She smiled; the wolf man probably had no idea and probably didn't _want_ to, but he was extremely cute when he was trying so hard, with his ears laid back and his eyes narrowed.

"Very good. You're handwriting's better than Luffy's, you should be happy." He looked at her with his eyebrow raised. "Now, I'll teach you the alphabet." She wrote it down, using block script as well so Zoro could read it easier. "Just copy it down a few times, Sanji should be done working soon."

"What kinda work does he do?" Zoro asked, starting to copy down the letters. He already knew the first and last, as well as a few in the middle.

"He mostly deals with complaints from the villagers, and traders." She answered, watching him as he glared at the letter E. "What's wrong?"

"Why does this one and the one next to it look so much alike?" He asked, gesturing to the F as well.

"It's mostly because of the Latin base."

"… I'll pretend I know what that means."

WHEEE!LINEOFPAGEBREAKINESS! WHEEE!LINEOFPAGEBREAKINESS!

Zoro walked towards his master's chambers, he wanted to show the prince that he had already learned the alphabet. In the extremely short time he'd known the blond he grew to respect him and wanted his approval. Now, he'd never let anyone know that… maybe he'd tell Robin, she was like an older sister, once he'd gotten past the creepy smile.

As he pushed the large wooden door open, he paused at what he saw. Sanji was humming and dancing the waltz with himself. Yes, Zoro knew what the waltz was. Sanji didn't seem to notice him. Zoro tossed a beginner's reading book at the blond's head.

"What's with you, noodle-but?" He called.

The blond turned and grinned, ignoring the book tossed at him. Zoro stared. He had never seen the blond smile at a _man _like that. And he spent the rest of yesterday watching the blond noodle at every woman he came across; Servant or Lady.

"I'm engaged!" He cried, tears of happiness flowing from his eyes. "She's the most amazing woman in the world! Her name is Princess Nami of the Conomi Kingdom! She has beauty and grace and intelligence!"

"So does Robin." He felt like pointing out, a strange feeling in his chest.

"But I cannot marry Robin! She is engaged to Lord Cutty!"

_Lord Cutty? Doctor Chopper? What is with these people's names? _Zoro thought. He wondered if this Cutty guy was a reindeer too, but dismissed the thought, humans couldn't marry animals. They could only marry animal like creatures, like Lycans, Centaurs, etc.

"Have you even met this girl?"

"I don't need to, to know I'm in love!" He declared.

"Che, she's probably an ugly bitch with a shitty personality. Probably an airhead, too." As soon as the words came out of his mouth he regretted them. "Sorry!" He didn't want to upset the prince, but it was too late.

"Never speak about a woman like that, Shitface, never! Women are precious beings! She's a princess, not to mention my future wife, and you're just an idiot slave who can't read or write! You aren't even human!" He spat out, wanting so badly to hit the man in front of him.

Zoro's face paled. That hurt. Sanji hadn't called him a slave since they saw the doctor! Plus, he'd pretty much called him an animal. He _was not_ an animal, he had some animal instincts; but animals didn't have souls. They just ate, slept, shitted, and fucked. He turned around and left, dropping the papers he'd been holding.

Sanji stared after the slave; he didn't know what had come over him. One second he was on cloud nine and the next he was making the wolf man feel like shit. Sure, he'd insulted a woman, his fiancée to be exact, but he'd never blown up at someone like that. Unless they actually physically harmed them. He felt terrible. Zoro looked so hurt. Like a kicked puppy.

Sanji blamed his outburst on lack of sleep and having to listen to the peasants whining about things he couldn't fix, like the amount of rain… What did they want him to do, a rain dance? The prince noticed the papers lying scattered on the ground. He picked them up and looked at them. The first had Zoro's named in large block letters and the next few had the alphabet. A few of the letters were backwards. But on the last page, they were all perfect. And at the bottom he notice one word in particular; 'Sanji.'

"Shit… I messed up." He cursed himself. No wonder Zoro was so upset, the man had wanted to show Sanji that he was learning, and quickly at that.

He needed to find Zoro. Too bad he didn't know that the other male was 'geographically challenged.'

**Awesome. A plot. Um, I know that Sanji and Zoro are being kinda weird, but whatever. Let's call it hormones and canine loyalty. And it was a strange chapter, because again, I make this up as I go along. So, next chapter; Sanji searches for his lost puppy and Princess Bitchy, I mean Nami, arrives. I don't like Nami most of the time.**

**(1)I doubt that there was sake in whatever time period this is, but let's pretend there is.**

**(2)I got that from George Lopez!**

**(3)That came to me in a dream. The whole part in the library was in my dream last night, no joke.**


	6. Flash Back

**Woot, chapter six is here! Pretty emotional Zoro warning ahead. So be prepared. I just like writing him like that. I think he would act like that if someone he *cough*loved*cough* said such mean things to him. But they aren't going to realize that they like each other until waaaaaaaaaay later. And I thought of Ace's and Smoker's parts! I'm sorry I didn't update when I said I would, Microsoft crashes my computer if I try to open files on weekends! D: So now I'm gonna update on Mondays.**

**Replies:**

**Midnight Ghost: Nope, I'm sorry if you like her, but I'm not a big fan.**

**WhenTheMugiwarasCry: I'm glad you like it, I tried to update sooner but it didn't happen. **

**Princess Darkcloud: Yeah, poor Zoro. ):**

**: Sanji is a meanie! D: And Zoro thanks you for the hug. **

**PaperBagGhost: Thank you! :D**

**cb: Lol. Sanji's an ass.**

**XxJuuichiChoushinseixX: Yey, glad you like it! :D**

**Lolitzme: First, love your penname, and thanks for the review!**

**The Wandering Swordsman: I didn't mean to make you sad! But it's payback for when Heart makes me cry! Mwuahaha! Zoro's a fast learner, right? He wasn't dumb in the show, either, just geographically challenged. Sanji does need to think before he acts. :D**

**animeXIII: I'm glad you think so.**

**mimifoxlove: Wow, you asked a lot of questions. All will be explained in the next chapter. And I think Zoro's pack forgot about him, he wouldn't want them to come after him anyway. And I don't know if anything will happen to him at the full moon… I'm pretty sure Lycans and Werewolves are different.**

**Thanks to starglows93, XSilverLiningsX, bludormouse, Kuroneko no tsuki ookami, WhenTheMugiwarasCry, PaperBagGhost, Doryan, silva moonlite, Lovepuppy12, animeXIII, and mimifoxlove for the alerts/favorites. **

**Here we go!**

Zoro walked down the hall until he was out of sight of Sanji's room, then he broke into a run. He felt strange. His chest hurt, his face felt warm, and he just wanted to cry. But Roronoa Zoro never cried. Not since… her.

(Squeamish look away)

Kuina, his best friend; she had died during a raid on the clan. She had been running to get her sword when it happened. She had tripped and fallen, getting her foot caught in a tree root. As she was struggling to get free, a horseman ran by, chasing after one of the clan's pups. The horse's large hoof had come down right on her head, smashing her skull and spilling her brains all over the forest floor. When Zoro found her, foxes had already half eaten her, her insides poured out of her torn up body as the canines tore them up and kept eating, unaware of the dangerous being behind them.

Zoro roared, cutting the foxes down. Anger clouded his vision as he spilled their blood, just like they'd spilled hers. He ripped them open, breaking bones clean off and pulling their organs out. He wanted those soulless beasts to feel her pain. He turned as unrecognizable lumps of blood and fur littered the ground.

Sniffing, he picked up the scent of the man who had killed her. Following the trail and grabbing Kuina's sword along the way, he found the man. The only survivor, and killed him in the same manner as he did the foxes.

(Okay, squeamish can read again. You didn't miss much, just the history of Kuina)

Zoro had wandered back towards his clan and they buried her body. Not long later, another attack came. There were too many and without Kuina, they only had a few strong warriors. Most of the clan was made up of women and children. He had sent them all into hiding for the attack came from slave traders.

That was two years ago and how he ended up here; lost and confused. He had never felt this strangely about someone… Maybe he was allergic to Sanji. Yeah, that would explain it. He'd have to find Chopper and ask him if that was possible. But first, he'd have to figure out where the fuck he was and how to get back and get his master to forgive him.

He kept walking and eventually he found himself at the library. Hoping that Robin was there and he didn't look like a wreck, he walked in and started searching for her. Twenty minutes, a personal record, later he came across her and some red haired woman in a fancy dress. Two men were standing next to her engaged in a conversation. The dark haired one looked up and grinned, motioning to the Lycan next to him who looked a _whole lot_ like his brother, Smoker. The blue haired man looked up and his eyes widened in surprise. He ran towards the smaller man and the last thing Zoro was expecting was a hug.

"Uh…Hi?" He was thoroughly confused.

"You seriously don't remember me? Oh well, you _were_ only three." The older man released him.

By now they had the attention of Robin and the other woman. They were watching with mild fascination. "Smoker?" Zoro asked incredulously. (1)

"The one and only."

Zoro punched him in the face. "YOU BASTARD! What the fuck were you thinking? What kinda idiot leaves his three year old brother with a clan full of Lycans that he'd never met before? Huh, answer me that!"

The larger man restrained him. "Calm down, I did it for your own good, ya brat." Zoro continued struggling and managed to slam his head into his brother's mouth, he felt blood on his head… yum. "Ouch, dammit Zoro." He spit the blood to the side kicked the 'pup's' feet out from under him. "Listen to me. I needed to protect you, and leaving you with the Shimoshiki Clan was the best thing I could come up with."

"Whatever you bastard. I'm a slave now, and I blame you for that."

"Oh, well, I was hoping to see you again but not as a fellow slave." It was then that Zoro noticed the collar around his brother's neck. Smoker pulled the smaller male to his feet. "Damn, you look like shit. What happened to you?"

"Eneru." Zoro answered, looking at the bandages on one arm to discover that the sound had opened back up. "…Shit."

"Che. Sorry about that. Anyway, this is Ace." He introduced the black haired man.

"Do you have a little brother?" He asked, the man next to him looked a lot like Luffy.

"Yeah. Haven't seen him in years, though. Kid got captured by mountain-" He cut off as he fell to the ground, snoring.

"What the?" He turned to his brother, awaiting an explanation.

"He's a narcoleptic."

"Yeah, okay, I'll pretend I know what that is." He answered. Then he punched his brother again. "Thanks to you leaving me I can barely write my own name."

"Oh," Smoker broke into laughter. Zoro hit him again. "Sorry, sorry. I forgot that the Shimoshiki were illiterate."

"Zoro, you shouldn't lie." Robin interjected. "You can also write the alphabet."

"Oh, so this is the student you were talking about. That means you must be Prince Sanji's slave." The red head stood and smiled. "I'm Princess Nami, Prince Sanji's fiancée."

Zoro growled at her and turned to leave. He had just wanted to talk with Robin, not have a fucking family reunion and meet just the bitch he was trying to avoid. He was furious now, she was pretty, and seemed nice; which meant he had to apologize to Sanji soon.

The three others stared at him, Ace still snoring on the floor. Smoker kicked the narcoleptic and sat down.

"Was it something I said?" Nami asked, bewildered. That was the first man she'd ever met who hadn't fallen for her charms. Okay, third. But the other two were her gay servants, so they didn't count.

"No. Zoro is emotionally, as well as geographically, challenged." Robin replied. "He probably had a bit of a spat with Prince Sanji."

"Why?"

_Knowing Prince Sanji, he was swooning over the fact that he was engaged and Zoro had seemed very excited to show him that he'd learned the alphabet_. Robin thought to herself. "I don't know, they usually enjoy fighting with each other."

WHEEE!LINEOFPAGEBREAKINESS! WHEEE!LINEOFPAGEBREAKINESS!

Zoro swallowed, throat dry. He stood outside of the large doors for the second time that day. He was going to go apologize. Something else he hadn't done since Kuina. He shoved open the doors and saw Sanji look up in surprise.

"Zoro! I've been losing my fucking mind! Where have you been?" He got off the bed, Zoro took a step back.

"The library, mostly. I also found five different bathrooms, a maid making out with a butler in a closet, and mine and Luffy's brothers." He answered, looking anywhere but the angry blue eye. He decided to leave out the part of meeting Sanji's bride. "Can we do something about this fucking collar? I hate it."

"Yeah, Eneru put it on you, right?" Zoro nodded. "Then tomorrow we'll go get it off. And maybe kick his face in and tie him to the back of a runaway horse cart by his earlobes."

Zoro grinned. As soon as that stupid piece of faerie shit was off his neck, he wanted a serious spar with the curly browed noodle man.

**And it's finished! Man, it's moving a lot faster than I expected. I'm gonna try and keep the romance out of it until later, I like my men kinda dense. Lawlz. I've been watching Scooby-Doo while typing this and it always makes me hungry. **

**(1)Yeah, whatever. Smoker and Zoro look related, so shut up.**

**(2)I realized that he's still been calling him a slave, I meant to change that. So until I go back and edit the other chapters, just pretend.**

**Oh yeah! My dog's gonna have her puppies soon! I'm gonna name one Zoro!**


	7. Pointless Violent Ch For Laptop Newbie

**The party has arrived! Chapter seven of slave, now with more violence! And swords! YAAAAAAAAY! I'm happy! I've been really happy today, I talked for hours today and then I felt like dancing in the middle of the grocery store… I freaked my mom out when I told her that. And, thanks to Laptop Newbie, there will be a lot more Zoro violence because she asked, of course, there's gonna be fluff in the beginning. So, if you want anything in the story, don't be afraid to say something, unless you ask for incest or lemons. I'm also watching George Lopez again. :D**

**Review Replies:**

**Midnight Ghost: Yeah, I'm pretty sure he has blue hair. Although some of the pictures show him as blond. And now I wanna put a part in the story about evil faeries attacking him in his sleep… SIDE STORY! …Woof.**

**mimifoxlove: Thanks, Zoro-puppy sleeps a lot. Lol. And yeah, I felt that he needed a brother. Ace Luffy reunion will be in the next chapter and I'll try to make Robin's answers more cryptic, but I make no promises. They might end up sounding like 'WTF, were did that come from?'**

**Paper Bag Ghost: Puppies are cute! But you're right, Zoro is cuter… sometimes. Mama Zoro from the filler episode was cute (episode 318, I recommend it).**

**Dragon77: I'm very glad you like it but I won't be updating for a while. D: **

**Babygaaralover: CONGRATULATIONS! And yes, Zoro is cute! XD**

**Not many reviews for the last chapter. ):**

**Thanks to rachz09, Xovinn, Lovepuppy12, Dragon77, YukuAmayaMizuki, pain-in-the-ass, and babygaaralover for the alerts/favs. Also, pain-in-the-ass, I like your pen name.**

**STORY TIME!**

Sanji and Zoro rode in the carriage, or, Sanji rode in it and Zoro rode on top, conversing with Luffy about fighting styles and showing him his swords. Sandai Kitetsu, Shuusui, and Wadou Ichimonji; Sanji couldn't believe that his green haired pet named them, let alone used them all at once. He had been very surprised when he had placed the third one in his mouth. The prince had laughed out loud and quickly shut up when Zoro called him a 'Stupid Dartboard Brow' with the sword still in place.

Zoro was currently telling Luffy about the cursed sword, Sandai Kitetsu, and Luffy was in awe. The carriage hit a bump and suddenly most of Zoro's upper body was hanging in front of the window as Zoro caught the swords that fell from the roof. Sanji laughed, he had chosen an entertaining pet, that was for sure. Zoro started pulling himself up and grinned at Sanji when his face got to the window. Sanji waved a little and chuckled again, hitting the window right where the Lycan's nose was pressed against it.

Zoro's fluffy ears disappeared from view and Luffy announced their arrival. The prince jumped out of the coach and Zoro jumped off from the top, hitting the ground with a thud. Today He was wearing the same black pants but a sleeveless dark blue tunic over it. His swords hung at his hip and Sanji could see the man was bursting with excitement, ready to beat the ever loving shit out of Eneru. (1)

"Oi, Eneru, where are you?" Sanji called, forgetting, again, to talk like a prince.

"Yes, Prince Sanji?" Eneru asked, coming out of another room. He noticed Zoro. "Oh, are you here to return him?"

"No. Take the collar off him."

"But, Prince Sanji, if I take it off, he could harm you."

"Yeah, right, fluffy here's really gonna hurt _me_." Zoro growled. "Besides, he promised that if we ever fought, it would be training."

"Of course, Prince Sanji." He approached Zoro who titled his head to the side to allow the taller man better access to the buckle.

As soon as the harmless looking piece of leather fell to the ground Eneru was up against the wall with three swords pressed against his neck. "So, _Master Eneru_, I need to pay you back for a few things. First, for treating me like shit, I was worried that I'd have to get something amputated. Second, for electrocuting the shit out of me every. Single. Fucking. Day. And third, for treating _my swords_ like _shit_. I really don't care that you treated me like shit because I nearly bit your earlobes off. But you didn't take care of my swords at all."

Sanji shook his head. Of course Zoro would be more worried about his swords. "Hey, Marimo, let me get in a hit."

Zoro smirked and stepped to the side, allowing Sanji to kick the man in the face. Eneru was now gushing blood and missing a few teeth. "Sheesh, Dartboard, don't kill him before I get a chance to beat him to a pulp."

Zoro let out a snarl and dropped as Eneru shoved a stun gun into the man's side. He quickly retaliated by biting Eneru's leg, much like the time he'd first met Sanji. He immediately jumped back up and punched the man in his already bleeding face and got all three swords ready. Then he realized how stupid that was when the man hit Wadou with the stun gun and burnt the inside of Zoro's mouth. (2)

_FUCK DAMN THAT HURT! _Zoro thought. _Oh well, it'll heal._

He slashed the man and knocked the stun gun out of his hand. Eneru kicked out at him and Zoro jumped over the leg. He the slashed the man again and jumped back as Eneru produced a new stun gun from who knows where.

Sanji just watched, he was a little worried when Zoro's mouth got electrocuted but he seemed fine. Sanji was getting bored though; he wanted a little action as well. When Zoro got hit with the stun gun again, Sanji kicked Eneru in the head.

"Remember when I told you to stop electrocuting him? What part of that do you not understand?" He kicked him again as Zoro ran to gather the swords; he had tossed them when the man with the freakish earlobes had tried to use them as lightning rods again.

Zoro's tongue felt rough and dry as he placed Wadou back in his mouth. He grabbed his other two swords and stopped to watch the prince gracefully kick the shit out of Eneru. The blond's slender and powerful legs were lashing out with destructive force. _Well, Zoro, that's about the most creepy and poetic thing you've ever thought. Yeah, he kicks ass, don't start thinking like a frootloop, though. (3)_

Zoro and Sanji decided that the man was half-dead enough and left. Zoro wanted to go free a few of the other slaves but decided against it.

They returned to the palace, the burnt, green haired man on top of the carriage receiving strange looks from the villagers, and headed inside. Zoro had to go see Chopper again about his burnt mouth; it was starting to hurt a little. As they entered Zoro saw the witch woman approaching. He growled and his slit pupil eyes narrowed. Sanji kicked his ankle.

"Don't growl at women, Shithead."

"Don't tell me what to do now that I can attack you, Shitty Brow." He hissed.

"Shitty Brow? Really?" Sanji asked, raising a 'shitty brow' at the green haired slave. "And, you're still my pet, so I _can_ tell you what to do."

"I see no collar, I feel no collar, so therefore I am no pet."

A strap of leather was clamped around his neck. He blinked. "There's a collar, and it even comes with a nametag." He grinned at the shocked and slightly embarrassed look on his puppy's face. _My _puppy_? Really? I am going crazy._ Sanji inwardly cursed himself.

"A name tag? What, I'm not gonna get lost." He lied, tugging at the collar. His hands reached the buckle, or it was supposed to be the buckle, Zoro felt a lock. "A lock?"

"Yep, now you can't take it off."

"You're a jerk with stupid eyebrows, ya know that?"

"Whatever, at least my hair's a normal color."

"My brother's hair is blue! So this is completely normal!" He pointed at his head.

The red haired demon woman walked up to them, smiling. Well, in Zoro's mind she was a demon. In Sanji's she was a goddess.

"Hello, my future king."

**Yep, it's over, it's crazy how fast I'm typing these up. I get two or three typed a day. It's pretty wild.**

**(1)I think 'ever loving shit' is a real term. **

**(2)Um, let's pretend stun guns exist.**

**(3)Let's pretend frootloops exist too. **


	8. Family Reunion

**I'M SO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I had vacation, I got a job, and I have summer homework. Um. I don't have much inspiration for this one, so it's gonna be weird. :D And Murderface ate my shoe. DX**

**I'm watching the Teen Titans episode 'Wavelength' and Beast Boy just turned into a lantern fish. I was thinking "wouldn't he explode from being that high up in the ocean?" But of course, cartoons defy logic… Aqualad is sexy, nummy. **

**And I re-read the Whiskey Peak ark and I was right! Zoro only pretended to be drunk because he was on to Baroque Works! :D GO ZORO! So, Zoro can beat Nami at drinking, for all of you who don't know. **

**Review replies:**

**Babygaaralover: Sorry, but I guess you found the chapter the week after I posted it… I post (or try to) every Monday. Zoro is a cute green puppy.**

**Midnight Ghost: Oh. I hope Sanji doesn't die from reading this. Zoro would kill me! D:**

**Mimifoxlove: It was a bonding experience? I guess it was… Ah, the ties we form when beating up guys with freakish earlobes… XD And um, no, Zoro won't be getting pregnant… At least not in this fic. And nope, it's just an ordinary collar.**

**WhenTheMugiwarasCry: I wouldn't call it genius… *blushes***

**Cb: That's a good idea, actually. So, that evil person will show up later. Thanks! :D Poor Zoro, we're so mean to him.**

**Diiah: I'm glad you found this, too. I don't think it's really well written, I just pay attention to my spell check… but thank you for the compliment!**

**Princess Darkcloud: I, too, want a Lycan Zoro! Sanji's really lucky!**

**The Wandering Swordsman: (For chapter six) I love brother's, too! Except when they belong to me. I'm glad I'm an only child. Yes, there will be fluffy brotherly love between them. But, I think you misunderstood. Ace and Smoker are both Nami's slaves. (For chapter seven) YAY! Don't feel sorry for that bastard! D: Yep, Sanji got him a present… I don't know when, but he did. Zoro's dumb like that. Man, your replies are always the longest. Lol.**

**Kimiwa: I'm glad you're enjoying it. :D**

**Also, thanks to EBIL DUSTBUNNY OF DOOM, WhenTheMugiwarasCry, Diiah, Sweet-Kitsune1803, Storm Song8, Aoi96, fefe77777 (that's a lot of sevens…), and 12kia for the alerts/favs! Only three of you guys don't have numbers in your names! D:**

**And I really appreciate those, but I like to hear reviews, even if it's just a 'good job' or something. So, please review!**

"Hello, my future king." Nami held her hand out to the blond man in front of her.

"Princess Nami?" He asked delightedly, little hearts popping up around him. One floated to close to Zoro and he poked it with one of his claws, grinning evilly as it floated, deflated, to the ground.

"The one and only." She smiled as he kissed her hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet a woman as lovely and amazing as you, by sweet."

She giggled demurely, covering her mouth with her hand. Zoro was too preoccupied with Ace and Smoker to notice.

"Oi, Curlicue, can I go to the stables?" He called, not caring that he'd interrupted them.

"Don't call me that." Sanji ordered, glaring icily at Zoro.

"Why not? You call me mossy and shit head."

"I never use that kind of foul language." He ordered.

"Since when?" Zoro barked, glaring at the blond.

"Royalty doesn't speak that way. Now stop disrespecting your master and go."

Zoro figured it out, Sanji was _pretending_ to be a prissy goody-goody for the princess. "Fine." He turned swiftly, muttering under his breath.

"Is it okay if we go too, Princess?" Ace asked. "He promised to let me see my brother."

"Of course, Ace. Smoker, make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

"Thanks!" Ace called, jogging after Zoro and dragging Smoker along with him.

As the three men entered the stable, the smell of hay and horses reached their nostrils causing the two Lycans to clamp their hands over their noses. Dust mites danced in the light that streamed in through the wooden rafters. They located Luffy as he shoveled hay into the stables. A boy with a long nose was with him as well.

"LUFFY!" Ace tackled the smaller boy into the pile of hay, successfully stabbing them both with the pitchfork.

"OUCH!" They yelled in unison.

"Smokey~ It hurts!" Ace whined, holding he arm out as blood welled from a large hole.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" He raised an eyebrow, looking annoyed.

Ace smirked. "Kiss is better."

"NO!" Smoker growled.

"Um… Ace?" Luffy questioned.

"Yeeeeeeees?" He turned and grinned at his bleeding brother.

"ACE!" He jumped into the older boy's awaiting arms. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Zoro and Smoker quietly watched the little family reunion, both grinning slightly at the scene.

"So, you're what; thirty four?" Zoro asked, shifting his eyes to his brother.

"Yeah. Nineteen, right?"

"Yup." Zoro examined the room with his eyes, pursing his lips as he tried to think of something to talk about. "So, what's goin' on with you and Ace?" He finally asked, deciding to tease his brother as only younger siblings could.

Smoker blushed. "N-nothing."

"Really, 'Smokey?'" Zoro grinned, pointed teeth gleaming.

"Shut up, pup!" Smoker growled, knocking Zoro in the head.

Zoro punched at Smoker and the two continued their 'brotherly bonding' on the ground. Ace and Luffy watched, laughing, as the Lycans kicked up dust and hay. Zoro clipped his brother in the jaw and Smoker managed to scratch Zoro's arm. The younger Lycan had forgotten his swords; they lay in a pile safely away from the fight. They'd done him good today, and it was only his brother, he didn't need them. A small smile graced his lips; he hadn't played around like that since he was a pup.

"Zoro's cute, huh?" Ace grinned, resting his head on one hand.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Luffy trailed off, picking his nose.

"Gross, dude, that's something you only do in private, okay?" Ace made a face, whacking his brother's shoulder.

"Sorry." Luffy wiped his hand on his pants and turned back to the scuffle that was starting to freak out the horses. "Oh, have you met Usopp?" He turned around, only to find his friend missing. "Huh, that's weird; he was here a minute ago."

"ZORO!"

Zoro immediately sat up, bits of hay sticking in his hair and tail and dirt coating most of his body. "Yeah?"

Sanji raised an eyebrow, "Go take a bath, Princess Nami wants to talk to you."

Zoro got up and dusted off his pants, dirt showed up very well on black after all. "Why me?" He asked, pointing to himself.

"I don't have a clue, but what Princess Nami wants, Princess Nami gets!" He crooned, swirling around.

"You seriously belong to _this guy_?" Smoker asked, plucking a piece of straw from his brother's hair.

"Sadly."

"Shoo, pet, go get cleaned up for Princess Nami!" The three other slaves, the long nosed one long since gone, snickered at Zoro being a 'pet.' A glare from the green haired Lycan quickly shut up Ace and Luffy, Smoker was still smirking.

Zoro growled at Sanji as he walked past him and Sanji kicked him lightly in the butt.

"Oi, Marimo, you need help finding your room?"

"No…" He trailed off, looking away innocently.

"Come on." Sanji huffed, grabbing his pet by the sleeve and dragging him off.

"Leggo!" He tugged his arm free of the other man's grasp with no problem, or he would have if he wasn't so weak at the moment. "Hey, Curlicue, can I get some weights?"

"Why?"

"Because I miss my muscles." He _didn't _pout as he thought of the strength he once had.

"Yeah, okay. As soon as Chopper says your fit for it."

"Speaking of Chopper, I need to see him about the burn in my mouth."

"Okay. You can see him later."

LINE BREAK

Zoro stood in front of Nami, shifting from foot to foot. His tail twitched aggravatedly as he tried to look anywhere but her. He settled for examining the room. It was fancy, that was for sure. Cream colored walls lightened the room even more than the white marble floor and all the furniture was light orange. He wasn't a big fan, but he figured it was okay for a woman. (1)

"Zoro, I know you don't like me, but can't we talk?"

"Why?"

"Because, I don't want to marry Prince Sanji… and I know you like him." (2)

"WHAT?"

**Wow, this was short, but I figured it was a good place to stop. But, this thing's been going for over a month now! WOOT! *throws confetti* Anyway, like I said, this is probably gonna be the last for a while, maybe the whole summer, I dunno. But I'm about to go out of town, which is why I've but this one up so soon. I hope you like it! :D**

**I'm not saying that all women like that style; personally, I don't.**

**I decided that I didn't want Nami to be mean anymore. Lawlz.**


	9. Evil Plots and Giant Ducks

**So, my friend had a dream last night where Zoro was running around in his underwear shopping for an outfit for the Budokai (from DBZ) and he bought a shirt with Piccolo on it. XD I would pay to see that.**

**Review Replies: **

**Princess DarkCloud: Yes, Brotherly bonding is cute. But Nami can be a bitch sometimes. Like at the G8 Marine base when she threw Zoro's swords over the railing and nearly got him killed. Sorry the chapter was short, and sorry that the plan they formulate is pretty lame. DX I couldn't think of anything better.**

**HappyMe-O: I'm glad you're enjoying it. **

**Midnight Ghost: I was, but I changed my mind.**

**Babygaaralover: I'M SORRY YOU HAD TO WAIT! D: **

**M. Nakamura: Um. I put a space in your name because FF keeps deleting it. So I tried it this way. II like that you think it's going good. I think it's kinda random. And I like Nami too, she has her moments. I like Smoker + Zoro bonding. It's cute.**

**The Wandering Swordsman: XD Nami saw what even Zoro had no clue about. And I'm glad you liked the quote, I'm gonna have a friend of mine draw that up because it's my favorite part. I luff the brotherly bonding, it seems a lot of people did. Yeah, my friend's dad thinks they look alike in profile.**

**Mimifoxlove: Yeah, I guess you're right, I hadn't even thought of that. Sorry to say, there's nothing special about his new collar. Don't tell Zoro he's cute, he'll cut you up. It was, 'cept for them getting impaled by the pitchfork… D:**

**Cb: Nope, not the last one. I'm gonna work hard to get updates, they might not always be on time. But I'm working on it.**

**Yuukiwhitewolf: I'm glad you think I'm funny. And I wasn't planning on quitting on this story, so don't worry.**

**WhenTheMugiwarasCry: Um. Yeah, I realized that after I posted it. I hadn't finished rereading it. Lol. They should have a drinking contest some day. For real. The Smo/Ace will be in there, so rejoice!**

**Also, thanks to verunder, lostpuzzle, HappyMe-O, Ryanfan14, yuukiwhitewolf, MJMeldrim, and Azh Hikari for the favs/alerts. **

**On with the story!**

Zoro stared at the princess in disbelief. "Y-you're kidding right?" He asked, pointing a shaking claw at the girl. "I hate that blond moron."

"Why would I be kidding?" She asked, pretending to look innocent. "Look, I have no interest in Prince Sanji whatsoever. I just want the money."

"Witch." The Lycan muttered, resting his chin on his fist and glancing away.

Nami looked annoyed. "I could go tell him right now how you really feel about him."

"How many times do I have to say that I'm not interested in him?" He growled, green eyes narrowing at the orange haired girl.

"Okay, okay, say whatever you like. You don't like Prince Sanji. But I don't either. So, you're going to help me get out of this."

"How?"

"Charm him."

Zoro blinked once, twice, before answering with a very intelligent "huh?"

She sighed, exasperated at the simple minded oaf before her. "If you charm him, he won't be interested in me anymore. Then, we can get married, I get the money. And Sanji and I can both see whoever we want."

"But if I charm him, he's gonna like me." His ears flattened as he tried to sort it out. "And then I'll be stuck with him, because he won't wanna see anyone else. So I lose." He put a hand on his head. "My head hurts."

"It's because stupid people shouldn't think too much."

"HEY! I'm not stupid! I know the whole alphabet!" He defended, tail swishing as he stood from the couch.

"Oh, sorry," She muttered sarcastically. "Wow, the whole alphabet! I didn't learn that until I was two!"

"I grew up with illiterate people." He blushed, frowning at her.

She giggled. "So, you in or not?"

"If I say no, you won't let me leave, will you?"

"Nope."

"Ugh, fine." He turned on his heel and left.

Zoro wandered the building. Apparently Sanji had forgotten to wait for him and now he was lost. Zoro scratched his head as he found himself in a garden. Shrugging, he decided that he could at least train for a bit before he went and found Chopper. The Lycan smirked, showing his pointed teeth, as he found a large boulder. "Perfect,"

He lifted the boulder onto his back and shoulders and started lifting. His mind drifted back to his conversation with Nami. _'I guess I don't really need to charm him. I've got no clue on how to do that anyway… Oh well, it's her fault for thinking I could do something like that.'_

He blinked and realized he had forgotten to count. Growling, he dropped the boulder and started doing push-ups.

"199… 200… DAMMIT!" Zoro barked, hitting the ground with a fist. He was breathing heavy. Before he was captured, he wouldn't have even broken a sweat. "I hate this." He muttered, heaving himself into a sitting position. He was sweating.

"Oh, there you are. I've been looking everywhere. How'd it go with Princess Nami?"

Zoro grunted and tugged at his now sticky shirt. He pulled it off and tossed it into the dirt next to him. He fell back and stared at the sky, arms at his sides.

"You okay?" Sanji asked, resting his boot on the Lycan's pant leg.

"'m fine." He muttered, shaking Sanji off.

"I see blood soaking through your bandages." The prince pointed out.

Zoro looked down and blinked. "Huh… Chopper's not gonna be happy about that."

Sanji just rolled his eyes and grabbed onto the wolf man's arm. "Come on."

He attempted to pull the other man off the ground but Zoro was adamant in trying to nap. He shut his eyes tight and just let Sanji waste his time trying to lift his dead weight.

"Stop being a baby!" Sanji growled, kicking his pet.

Zoro couldn't help but crack a grin as he continued to be useless.

*S*A*N*J*I*'*S*A*D*U*C*K*

Sanji's eyebrow twitched as he stared at the snoring Lycan on the ground. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why the marimo head would rather sleep on the floor than the expensive bed he now owned. Said snoring Lycan had just seen Chopper, drank three bottles of sake, worked out, gone to see Chopper again, and drank _five_ more bottles of sake before he passed out.

"I wonder why his liver hasn't exploded yet…" He murmured before turning back to the book he was attempting to read.

He said attempting because Zoro's snoring was interrupting his thought process so he kept having to reread sentences. He wanted to wake him up… but he was too cute. _Again? Why do I keep calling him cute?_ The blond prince slapped his forehead.

"Stupid moron. Snoring and keeping me up, pretending to be cute, making me grumble to myself. (1)"

"Sanji…" Zoro mumbled in his sleep. Sanji jumped off the bed and snuck closer to him. "I… I'm hungry." Then he went on to mumble about meat.

The chef's face went pale before heating up. "THE FUCK?" He barked, kicking the wolf awake.

"OW!" Zoro bolted up off the floor. "What was that for?" The green head yelled, enraged, before taking a swing at the blond.

"Uh… Nothing…" Sanji muttered, not sure how to explain himself.

"Whatever." He grumbled, walking over to his small pile of beginner reading books and picking one up. "Might as well get some reading done,"

Sanji nodded and went back to his own book.

*Z*O*R*O*'*S*A*S*H*A*R*K*

Zoro laughed as Luffy fell off the roof of the barn… for the fifth time. Usopp had fallen off about twelve. Both were attempting to grab a giant duck that had landed on the roof and wouldn't come down. He had come to like the cowardly goblin, Usopp; he was funny, but a little annoying.

"Give it up and let me do it!" he yelled through his laughter.

"NO!" Luffy cried, jumping out of the hay bale he'd landed in.

Zoro got up from his spot under the shade of a tree and walked over to them. He climbed up the ladder that Usopp was holding and kicked it down so they wouldn't follow him up. He eyed the duck before he sat down on the roof. It belonged to a visiting princess, Vivi, if he remembered correctly. The duck was named Karu.

Karu watched, confused, as the wolf man just sat, cross-legged, on the roof. He looked over at the duck and grinned. It was feral, but Karu thought the boy looked friendly enough; much unlike the first two, the strange monkey boy and the goblin. The duck slowly scooted closer to the green haired man sitting in front of him.

"Good duck, come on." He called in a deep, calming voice.

As soon as he was close enough, Zoro held out his hand and was about to pet the bird when he was interrupted by… "ZORO!"

The duck jumped and flew back a few feet. "DAMMIT! I ALMOST HAD 'IM!" He yelled, getting up onto his feet and yelling at the prince. "What do you want?"

"Why aren't you studying with Lady Robin?"

"She told me that I was doin' really good so I could take the day off!" He yelled. Zoro suddenly disappeared from Sanji's vision and reappeared just as suddenly, only this time with a large duck in tow. He jumped from the roof and landed with a thud. "I got 'im!" He turned the duck over to Luffy and Usopp before turning back to Sanji. "What do you want?"

"My dad wants to meet you."

**YAY! It's done! When I get up to chapter ten, I will give you a little bonus chapter. :D I don't have much to say this time around. Except that my friend, Haru, is going to draw fan art for this and post it on her DeviantArt account because she's a much better artist than me. You should check her out!**


	10. READ AUTHOR'S NOTE

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! Hi, this is Haru. I'm the one who shares this account with Shadow-chan. I'm sorry to say this, but she's giving up on this fic. A lot of things have been going on in her life lately and she just doesn't have time for this anymore. She said she lost inspiration for it as well… I will try and keep the fic going, although it will be different. I have very high standards and am a perfectionist. It probably won't be updated very often, because of school and such, but I will try. Again, I'm very sorry and I hope you continue to read.**

**Also, before she left, we decided that Zoro would have long hair and that he CAN get pregnant; I personally don't like that idea, but it's Shadow's story and I'll do it for her. He spent two years in a cage with no sharp objects so it makes sense. Plus his hair was giving me hell because he lacked ears on the sides of his head. Having long hair will make it easier for me to draw it. As for the pregnant thing, it makes sense for the plot, sort of.**

Zoro followed the blond prince down the large hallway; he still wasn't used to the ornate décor. The green haired male studied the richly colored tapestries in silence, unable to think of anything to say. Finally getting tired of it, he turned back to the blond.

"So, why did your dad want to see me?" He questioned.

"Why would I know?"

"I dunno… maybe because you're his _son_?" The wolf answered sarcastically.

"Shut up, fur ball."

"Bastard," He muttered, pulling his hair back and tying it into a low ponytail and leaving two chunks hanging down to cover where humans had ears. Stone castles got extremely hot in the summer.

"Here we are, you uncouth slob." Sanji presented the large oak double doors to his bristling counterpart, gesturing to them with his slender arms.

"Thank you, Prince Charming." He spat out another sarcastic remark before yanking open the door, possibly opening another wound, and marching inside. He looked around the surprisingly well light room and spotted an old man sitting on a throne. "Yo." He called, tossing a lazy hand up in greeting.

"Where's your respect, you scrawny pup?" The old man barked.

"I think I might have left it in my cage!" He snapped back. _Stupid old guy._

The old man's glare darkened and Zoro tromped closer to the raised platform that housed the flamboyant golden throne. He sat down in front of it, cross-legged, and continued his examination of the aging king.

The first thing he noted was the fact that he was missing a leg. He also had a very strange beard and mustache. All his hair was white as was his clothing. It wasn't showy by any means. He probably had the more dramatic clothing saved for guests more important than his son's below average slave.

"What?" The gruff voice broke the Lycan out of his reverie.

"I was just thinking that you look kind of familiar."

"I don't see why. An idiot like yourself probably doesn't know up from down."

"You're obnoxious. Why did you want to see me, anyway?" He questioned, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"I wanted to know why the Demon Prince Roronoa Zoro was reduced to a mere slave."

"Demon Prince? Huh, that's news to me. I never really paid attention to public affairs, though." _Did I really just say public affairs? I'm spending too much time with Robin._ "But it's none of your business."

That remark sent our happy little protagonist off to make friends with the wall. As he pulled little pieces of wall guts out of his hair he glared at the offending party. "I take it back, you aren't obnoxious. You're a grumpy old asshole."

"And you have no respect for your elders."

"I have respect for that kick, and your fancy mustache, but that's about it."

The old man, who Zoro still didn't know the name of, rolled his eyes. At least, that what the wolf figured he did, who could really tell with a face like that? "You're very simple, aren't you?"

"Yup. Never claimed otherwise."

"King Zeff!" A servant called out, bowing as he entered. "Princess Nami wishes to have an audience with you!"

"Fine, bring her in."

The princess entered, dressed in an intricate pink gown. She marched straight up to the old man and put her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, King Zeff, but I'm afraid I can't marry your son."

"WHAT?" He demanded, slamming his fist down on the armrest.

"You see, the Water Seven Kingdom offered me 100,000 Beri to marry their prince, Paulie. You only offered me 30,000. If you can't go higher than Water Seven's offer, I'll have to go with them."

The king narrowed his eyes in thought, the room was silent. Finally, he dropped his head and waved his hand at her dismissively. "Fine, fine. I can't afford to give you that much."

She bowed and left. Zoro stared after her. Was she really that desirable? He would admit that she was pretty, but she also seemed mean and conniving.

"You leave as well."

"Okay." He figured it was best to leave the old man to himself.

_Zeff… Zeff… Holy shit! Red Boots Zeff? Wow, I knew he was royalty, but I didn't think he's leave his life of crime to rule a kingdom. I wonder if Curlicue knows…_

The former prince walked through the halls, wondering where he was going. He had no clue how to get back to his room, considering the fact that he hadn't paid attention as he was led there. As he was lost in thought, he bumped into something hard, very hard. He looked up to see a very tall man, over seven feet, with crazy blue hair and an odd nose.

"Um… Sorry?"

The large man just looked at him before cracking a grin and laughing. "You must be Zoro-bro!"

Zoro's face dead panned, he was always annoyed by Johnny and Yosaku calling him that, and now this weirdo was doing it? Just his luck. "Um, yeah, I'm Zoro. Who are you?"

"Lord Cutty Flam, at your service. But you can call me Franky."

_Lord Cutty Flam… _"Oh, Robin's fiancée."

"The one and only!" He struck a pose. "I'm super glad you're so young, otherwise I might be in trouble." He joked.

"Huh?"

"Oh, Robin talks about you all the time and how cute and smart you are, but I'm not worried; she hates younger men."

"… I thought she liked me…" He muttered, furrowing his brows and looking down.

"Not hate like that, she hates dating younger men." The older man consoled the boy, patting him on the shoulder.

Zoro nodded in understanding. "Hey, have you seen a guy that looks like me? He's taller and has blue hair though."

"Yep. I saw him in the garden, come with me!"

"I don't need help." The green haired male muttered indignantly, crossing his arms.

"Don't bother lying, Zoro-bro. Robin told me all about how you're super 'Geographically Challenged.'"

Zoro turned his head away to hide his blush. After his face cooled down, he followed the other man through the maze of hallways. He sniffed once… twice… The smell wouldn't go away, it was following him… or leading him. He hurried forward a little and caught up with Franky, sniffing him. The lord gave him a strange look and he decided to explain himself, not wanting the man to think he sniffed people for fun or anything.

"You smell like a sword, but different. Like, not entirely human."

"Well, that would be because I'm a cyborg!" (1)

"… A what?" He asked, quirking his eyebrow.

"I'm part machine, part human. See, I was hit by a train once and-" The wolf man cut him off.

"What's a train?"

"A train is kind of like a carriage, but it's super huge and made of metal. And a whole bunch of people can fit in it at one time, but they have to pay."

"Okay." Trains sounded weird.

"And so I fixed myself up with metal from a scrap yard. Only my front half is metal. It's impossible to operate on your own back."

"… That would explain your nose…" He mumbled, he'd been staring at it unabashedly for the past five minutes.

Franky just laughed. "Here we are!" He exclaimed opening a door.

Zoro squinted his eyes at the bright light that invaded his irises. Thanking the blue haired man, he set off in search of the other blue haired man. After a few minutes of searching and what could be considered dumb luck, the teen saw a flash of blue behind a tree. Quietly, he snuck up and poked his head around.

Zoro felt his brain implode.

**Again, very sorry that Shadow-chan's given up. She just doesn't have the time or interest to carry this story on. I really hope you'll continue reading it. I'll try my best to keep it up. It might be more serious though, as I actually plan chapters out and don't just type down whatever comes to mind. **

**I'm truly sorry!**


	11. The Moon, The Moon, The Moon Came Out

**Well, thanks for all the good and one sad review. If you don't like it, just stop reading it. Don't tell me you're going to stop. And yes, I will keep the name xXShadowFiendXx, I came up with it. And thank you person who didn't demand an update because you were right, I **_**do**_** have a life outside of fandom. I almost never get a break so expect slow updates at odd hours of the night. Sanji and Zoro's relationship is going to develop slowly, so no mpreg for a while. Also, she did not have 'no yaoi' in the summary, that says 'no lemons' which I will not be changing. Writing those makes me feel dirty… Fail… I can't help it, I'm only a sophomore. **

**My sister brought home a stray cat, it used to belong to an old lady but she died. New kitty who has yet to be named can't seem to get along with our other four cats. All are female. She has claws still, we declaw ours for safety purposes, and has taken over the bed that our other cats like to lounge around on. The rest of the family wouldn't listen to my suggestions on how to **_**properly**_** introduce her to the other cats so we're having some issues. Urgh.**

**And apparently unexpecting isn't a word. :\**

Zoro stared at the entanglement of limbs on the green carpeting as he willed his brain to begin functioning properly again. First his processing returned, allowing him to understand what he was seeing. Next, his motor skills start up and he expresses his surprise in the most eloquent way possible.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" (You thought I would put "I HAVE TO PEE!" didn't you? Big Long Persona 4 Comic reference)

Smoker and Ace glanced up from their position on the ground. Ace was the first to speak up. "I think we were making out, but now I'm not so sure. Were we doing something else? Maybe I was dreaming."

The younger male just stared at them with an apathetic expression. "I don't care about your relationship. I meant what are you doing here? Nami went to Water 7 to marry some prince named Paulie."

"Oh, shit. I guess she forgot about us. No worries. She'll send for us sooner or later." Ace replied nonchalantly, sitting up as Smoker tried to make himself look slightly more dignified, and picked grass out of their hair.

"Is this a regular thing with her?" He questioned, wondering how someone could forget two human beings. Or one narcoleptic human and a wolf man. That was why he hated women, they couldn't do anything right.

"Sadly, yes. Hey, can Prince What's-His-Face cook us some food? I'm starving." Smoker chimed in, although it was more of an off tune tuba.

"Just go eat some poor, unexpecting squirrel; there's plenty of them around, I swear I've seen more of them than I have rabbits. I was looking for you because I'm sick of hanging out with that pansy ass excuse for a prince." He muttered, plopping down on the ground and leaning his back against the tree he had been previously regaining his motor functions behind.

It was a nice day out, the green haired teen mused, staring at the cloudless sky. He was in a great mood. A bug landed on his arm and he cheerfully squished it. He'd had enough of bugs to last his entire lifetime.

"You're a terrible slave, y'know that?" Ace asked, absently plucking a piece of grass.

"I grew up with illiterate bums and spent the last two years in a cage, so excuse me for being an asshole."

Ace just grinned before promptly falling asleep, flopping over to drool quietly on Smoker's shoulder.

Usopp ran over to them suddenly. "ZORO! Sanji wants you! Hurry up before he kills someone! Come on!" He cried, panting, tears streaming from his eyes as he tugged unsuccessfully at the lazy canine to try and get him up.

"Why?" He muttered, uninterested in doing anything that didn't involve a nap, that tree was surprisingly comfortable.

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me! Just come!"

"Fine." Zoro reluctantly stood up and followed the goblin back inside and towards… somewhere.

The wolf looked at the surprisingly empty hallways as they continued their death march. Or so it seemed with the way the dark haired boy was acting. The few servants he did come across were trembling like dead leaves in the wind. He stretched as they reached their destination, his and Sanji's room, and Usopp shakingly opened the door.

Sanji turned from where he seemed to be attempting to burn holes in the window with his eyes and instead directed his glare at the green haired man who simply raised his eyebrow.

Usopp fled.

The two princes began an epic and heated battle of great proportions, daring the other to blink or look away first. Zoro lost, he decided that Sanji cheated because he could only see one of the blond's eyes.

Finally, the winner of the duel spoke. "Did you have anything to do with Princess Nami leaving?" He asked coldly.

The man in question scoffed. "Yup. Totally did. I magically procured 100,000 Beri and gave it to the prince of Water 7 who I've never even heard of so he could get Nami to marry him. I'm just that amazing." He nodded, crossing his arms.

His eyes closed, he was nearly sent flying as a booted foot tried to cave his ribs in. He jumped out of the way and stumbled, but quickly recovered with a roll as said demon boot came crashing into the floor next to his head.

"YOU BASTARD!" Sanji screamed, face red.

"It was sarcasm, you oblivious ass hat!" He retorted, trying to gain a safe distance between him and the blond monster. He didn't feel like visiting Chopper again so soon.

Sanji halted in his terrible onslaught of destruction after the words flew from between the man's pointed teeth. "Really?"

"And this is why I refuse to fall in love; it makes you a total moron." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Yes, I was being sarcastic. I don't give a damn over who you marry. You could marry a cow and I couldn't care less."

And no one ate dinner that night. (Another BLP4C reference)

Zoro crouched on his small bed and struggled through one of the more advanced books that Robin had given him. Sanji had ignored him all day. Which was how life usually worked, Zoro couldn't even really consider himself a slave. He didn't do anything except what he wanted to. Unless Robin asked him or Sanji was on his time of the month, something which seemed to be a frequent occurrence. Zoro guessed it was more of his time of the week.

He glared at the words on the page, willing them to make sense. The book was about some girl and her family during the Depressing Period and the prejudice that went on against the Mythic Races back then. The author had apparently decided to be a horrible person and use copious amounts of sizeable words and fake words that Zoro supposed were to create an accent just to make Zoro angry… She succeeded.

He gave up for the night, regretful in his decision to _not_ chuck the book against the wall, and sprawled out on the wood, cotton, and feathers beneath him. Looking at the moon, he gasped.

It was almost full.

**Um… Wow, that came out faster than I thought it would. By the way, guess what book I'm referencing and I'll try and find the time to draw a picture of their choice for the first person to get it (Pleas don't request something that is not human, or animal, or a combo. I suck at anything else.) Um, so next chapter will be physco Were-Zoro.**

**Λ_Λ **

**= Ò^^^^Ó = (my werewolf)**

**/ Û¯¯¯¯¯Û\**

**(")_(")»»»**


	12. Fresh Blood

**I am depressed by the lack of comments. I know I didn't really start this story, but I adopted it and so it is my baby. And now I feel like I have an ugly baby. It's like there's two kinds of babies: cute babies and sweet babies. Sweet babies are the unattractive ones. So, this story is a sweet baby. But I shall keep going and hopefully when it grows up it will become attractive. **

**And my chemistry teacher called the guys in my class dickheads the other day because they were being idiots. That made me really happy.**

**Also, I kinda rushed this because I'm going out of town for Spring Break, and I thought you guys deserved something nice. :) **

**Sorry that this one is so short, I couldn't think of anything to make it longer. And the title comes from the Eels song "Fresh Blood."**

**This was my first real attempt at a cliff-hangar so tell me what you think? Please?  
**

Sanji paused as Zoro blatantly ignored him as he walked past. The green haired man seemed to be searching for something. What? Sanji wasn't sure, but he probably needed to get himself involved so that the wolf didn't get lost and end up starving to death.

"Hey, were are you going, dumb ass?" He asked, grabbing onto the other man's shoulder.

"The dungeon." He replied, shaking the blond's arm off and continuing on.

"Why?" Sanji demanded as he blocked the swordsman's path with his body, intent on getting a good answer… or a good fight, he was up for either one.

"Because it's almost a full moon soon. I need to lock myself up." Zoro replied, not looking the other man in the eye.

It was then Sanji noticed a few subtle changes in the green haired man's appearance. His skin looked rougher and he seemed a bit bigger than usual. Additionally, it appeared that he was attempting to grow facial hair, which made no sense seeing as he constantly made fun of his master's. His eyes had a more intense and wild aura about them. His pupils were dilated and his fangs were almost jutting out of his mouth. His nails had grown and were even more like a wolf's paws than before.

"What happened to you?" He reached out for Zoro again.

"Don't touch me!" He snarled, slapping the pale hand away.

Sanji kicked him in retaliation, sending the green haired man to the ground. "Listen, Shithead, I don't care if you're about to turn into a man eating beast, I'm your master and you'll treat me with respect." He said coolly as Zoro dragged himself from the ground, he was breathing heavily.

He seemed to be working hard to not fight back, grasping his arms and sinking his claws into his own flesh and Sanji watched in a sort of morbid fascination as little dots of crimson welled up around the dark nails.

"I need to be locked up. It's for everyone's good." The wolf man grunted out.

"What are you talking about?" The blond asked, resisting the urge to help the other man to Chopper; he thought he saw blood seeping through the wolf's tunic.

"Most Lycans can control themselves when they change. It usually takes a few years but they get the hang of it… I can't, I've tried, but I can't. I'm a danger to everyone when I change. I can't make heads or tails of anything. All I do is attack anyone who comes near me." He cast his eyes down in shame. "… I… I killed a little girl. I was hiding out in a cave a few years ago, it was raining pretty hard. She came into the cave to escape the rain… And I fucking killed her! She wasn't even six years old!" He screamed, tears streaking down his tan face, racing down into the fur around his jaw. "I can't be near anyone! I don't want to hurt another innocent person!"

Sanji only felt pity for the Lycan who had curled in on himself on the floor. His body was racked with sobs and his tail found its way between his legs. He looked like a kicked puppy. A sad, tortured, puppy that just happened to kill people on occasion… but a puppy none the less.

"Okay… Do you want me to take you to the dungeon, or somewhere more comfortable?" He really had no earthly idea about what he was supposed to say to comfort the beast.

"The dungeon is fine." He said at length, trying to gain some semblance of calm.

"Come on." He led the slightly older teen towards the dungeon, looking back every once in a while to make sure they hadn't been separated.

Zoro trudged behind him dejectedly, examining his hands that were turning more claw like as time progressed.

The blond tried to strike up a conversation. "I thought you had to see the moon to change."

Zoro looked blankly up at him. "That's a myth. The change just happens. It can't be stopped. It's like a disease." He murmured, clutching at his arms, creating a barrier between the two.

D: I'm a page break/ time skip

Zoro prowled, chest heaving, around the dank cell he was in. The change had totally consumed him, a few hours earlier than expected, so he wasn't really Zoro anymore. Just a beast. He sniffed the air and exhaled, steam puffing out of his snout. Someone was coming. He growled as his pupils dilated to let in more light. His ears twitched… he heard footsteps. They were coming closer, and closer, and closer. The door creaked open and he lunged, fangs bared, at the being that dared to invade his territory. All he saw was red. A platter of food fell to the floor with a deafening clamor, spilling food across the dirt covered stones. The crimson liquid soaked into blond. Guards rushed in. A net was thrown over the beast. The ruby red heap was picked up and rushed away. The wolf briefly registered a pain in the back of its head before darkness consumed it.


	13. Actions Have Consequences

**So, um… I'm gonna change their appearances to how they are after the time skip. I don't know if I'm going to change their ages though. I guess I'll only make them a year older since it's been almost a year since this thing was started. Besides, we don't know when they changed their looks, so it's okay. Right?**

Zoro sat dejectedly in his cell. After the incident last night, the guards had moved him to a slightly less accommodating area. He tugged at the cold chains that held him firmly against the wall and glanced mournfully at the food sitting smugly across the room. It was taunting him, he knew it. Either that or the guards where just being asses. They didn't seem to understand that what had happened was an accident. They weren't even allowing him to his unfortunate victim. Chopper had visited, but they only allowed him to treat the wound over the wolf man's left eye. It was apparently going to scar and he wouldn't be able to use it anymore.

He decided that was a fine punishment seeing as he nearly killed someone. He had nearly cried from relief when he heard that Sanji was okay. He really hadn't meant to hurt anyone. It was the stupid blond's fault anyway. He knew Zoro couldn't control himself during the full moon and came to see him anyway. Zoro growled and banged his head against the wall, wincing when he felt the trickle of warm blood against the back of his head.

The green haired man felt like he should be singing a depressing song about being in jail and attacking Sanji to harmonica music, but he wasn't really much of a singer and he would die of embarrassment if someone happened to walk in. So he continued to entertain himself by attempting pull ups. It didn't really work out very well considering the chains had too much give.

Zoro them switched his focus to the plate of food. He knew it was hopeless, but he attempted to move it with his mind. As he glared harshly at the now cold meal, he vaguely heard sounds of yelling and fighting outside. The door banged open and he looked up, cursing because he thought that he'd seen the plate move. He had made progress in his Jedi-ness(1) and now he had to start all over!

"Hey! You broke my concentra- Sanji?" Relief spread through him as he looked at the slightly disheveled blond. "Are you okay? I seriously didn't mean to attack you… It's your fault, anyway." He said, recalling his earlier thoughts.

Sanji looked flabbergasted, "What? My fault? How is it my fault?"

"You came in here… Why are you here anyway?" Zoro asked, changing the subject. He had made his point, after all.

"I came to get you out, stupid." He replied, unlocking the handcuffs(2).

"You're stupid." He retorted, rubbing his sore and slightly bloody wrists.

"I think being devoid of sunlight for so long killed more of your marimo brain cells." He answered, raising an eyebrow. "What happened to your eye?"

"Huh? Oh, one of the guards got me with their spear. It's no big deal."

Sanji looked at him, eyebrow raised, as he tried to comprehend the simple minded creature before him. He decided that Zoro didn't feel pain and left it at that. "Okay, whatever, let's go… Robin and Chopper are worried about you… Luffy is, too." The prince informed the other man as they exited the dungeon.

A guard jumped when Zoro growled at him. The wolf grinned slightly when he the man's armor rattling.

"So," Sanji started as they walked down the hall, "I think you deserve punishment for attacking me."

"What? I warned you I couldn't control myself! And you came in when it wasn't safe!" The green haired man barked, tail bristling in anger.

"That doesn't matter. You're my pet and I have to punish you. How else will you learn?" He looked smugly at the other male, who was fuming.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" He grumbled, crossing his arms and being careful not to lose sight of the blond. He didn't want to get lost in the dungeon, who knows what kind of creepy people where down there. "Hey, did you change your hair?" He asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, I did. Why?" The prince questioned, turning to look at Zoro.

"That means that…" Zoro started laughing all of the sudden, barely able to speak. "Your- your eyebrows- t-they" he snorted "they curl in the same direction?" At the slight blush on the other man's face, the wolf started cackling. He clutched his stomach, tears welling up in his good eye. "Oh, man, that's great."

"Shut up!" Sanji admonished. "Now you doubled your punishment!" With that, he grabbed the still giggling man by the wrist and dragged him off.

*New Scene*

Zoro sat laughing with Luffy and Usopp. They were outside, enjoying the weather. The swordsman, being the wolf that he is, repeatedly tried to convince his blond master to let him sleep outside, but Sanji just wouldn't have it. It had been a year since he had arrived at the palace, and now he had friend and a higher I.Q. He wanted to stay there forever, throwing his head back in laughter when Luffy tried to steal honey from a bee hive, then running away with the two younger boys as they attempted to escape the angry bugs.

He didn't even want to think about what kind of punishment Sanji had planned for him. After he had made fun of the other man's eyebrows, he was actually a little worried. It couldn't be good. The last time he'd been punished had been a nightmare. He spent the entire day peeling potatoes. It sucked. There was nothing interesting about it. Just seeing how fast he could get them peeled was what kept him from losing his mind.

Zoro rolled in the grass, he always loved grass. They had managed to elude the bees and where panting in the garden, near the fountain. The trio of slaves had no idea that a certain prince was watching them, or rather, the swordsman, from the library window.

"Zoro-kun is rather attractive when he smiles, don't you think Prince-san?" Sanji jumped at the sound of Robin's voice.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Robin-swan. You are so much more attractive than that scar covered brute!" He grinned at her, holding her hand in his.

"I think the scars add to his appearance. They make him seem so mysterious."

"The only mysterious thing about him is his sense of direction, I'm afraid. He's the most straight-forward person I've ever met." The blond laughed.

Sanji liked that about Zoro; even in he'd never admit it. The simple man was a breath of fresh air when he was surrounded by servants and nobles all day. They lied through their teeth. Even he was guilty of it sometimes. And he couldn't trust Usopp as far as he could throw him. He could kick him miles away, but throwing wasn't his thing.

Sanji was thrust back into reality when he realized that Luffy had thrown Zoro into the fountain. The now wet man surfaced, angry and spluttering, before throwing his soaking shirt to the side and chasing the rubbery teen around the courtyard. The blond swallowed as he watched the tanned man. In the past year he had built his muscle back up.

Sanji had honestly expected him to be larger; he was toned, but lithe. Sanji grinned a little when he realized how wide the man's hips were. He could tease him about being curvy later. He knew how Zoro hated having his manliness brought into question.

The Lycan caught Luffy and flung him into the fountain. He turned to Usopp, who froze and began running. Zoro gave chase, even though he would probably never catch the goblin. "Must be prey drive…" Sanji muttered to himself.

He hadn't even noticed when Robin excused herself.

**Well, I know that wasn't very dramatic, but this is a humor story… I didn't have much inspiration for this chapter. But it was longer than the last one, so that's good. If you have any ideas for Zoro's punishment (that don't involve lemons) I would be happy to hear them. I honestly have no idea what to do.**

**Let's pretend there are Jedis.**

**I didn't know what else to call them.**


	14. Pink Pandas at Midnight

**Um, okay. I honestly didn't even notice the first full moon and year skip thing. So, no year skip. Yeah, it's still a month. Sorry to everyone. And thank you Kiku90 for pointing it out. Things like that drive me crazy, so I'm really glad that you let me you're wondering about the title I uploaded this at midnight.  
**

If looks could kill then the entire castle would have spontaneously combust at that particular moment. Zoro was staring down the cloth in Sanji's hand with enough intensity to burn holes through it. The offending piece of cloth stared back at him with its little black eyes, daring him to defy it.

"There is no way in _hell_ that I'm wearing that monstrosity." The moss haired man declared, crossing his arms.

"But it's part of your punishment. You have to!" The prince commanded in the voice that he used when he knew he would get his way and embarrass someone. He shoved it into the other man's arms and smirked. "Now be a good pet and put it on."

"It has a fucking _panda_ on it." Zoro ground out. "And it's pink!" He wrestled the cloth back into the blond's care and turned to walk away, stopping short when he saw Robin standing in the doorway.

She smiled and a chill ran up the teen's back. No matter how long he spent with her, she still creeped him out a little.

"Now, Zoro-kun, I believe that you deserve this punishment. Besides, a strong man like you wouldn't really be embarrassed by an apron, would he?"

The wolf man took the bait. "Of course I wouldn't be embarrassed!" He snatched it back and tied it around himself. He then turned to Sanji, rolling up his sleeves as he did so. "Okay. Let's do this!"

"Right." The blond couldn't help but grin at how cutely determined the man looked. "So, we'll start off with something simple… like, boiling an egg." He turned around and pulled a large pot from underneath the cabinet. Setting it on the counter, he looked at Zoro. "Go get a bucket of water to fill up the pot."

The man in question raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be easier to just go fill the pot up at the sink?"

"Punishment." The prince reminded him.

"Do I have to wear the apron?" He tugged at the panda emblem and looked at the other man with his good eye.

"Yes."

Zoro grumbled and left to get the water. How he hated that perverted imp sometimes. He kept getting odd looks from the other staff. It was probably because he was dressed much more… cheery than normal. He had brown capris, a white long sleeved shirt, sandals, and of course the apron(1). It was April and already slightly hot. Zoro always enjoyed wearing lighter clothes when the weather changed, hence the awkward glances.

As he walked towards the well, a chill ran up his spine. He felt like someone was following him, but every time he turned around no one was there. The swordsman was starting to feel paranoid and cursed the fact that he had taken to leaving his swords in his room rather than carry them with him. Trying to act normal, the teen kept walking. As he neared his destination he whipped around and with incredible precision tackled his stalker to the ground.

He glared down at the smiling man beneath him, although the Lycan was worried that his glare was now only half as intimidating considering his lack of an eyeball. The man just kept grinning and Zoro noticed the three scars on the red haired man's eye. The swordsman was jealous; he only got one scar and was half blind and this creepy stalker had three scars and, from what Zoro could tell, he could see just fine.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" He ground out, claws slightly digging into the tanned skin of the man's single arm.

"My name's Shanks. I'm a friend of Zeff's. And I was following you because you're cute." He answered, winking.

Zoro quickly scrambled off the man, face extremely red, and grabbed his water pail, holding it in front of himself as a make-shift shield. "I could kill you with this bucket if I wanted to." He said as calmly as possible when faced with a possible rapist.

Shanks just laughed. "Sure, kiddo. Well, don't worry about it. I was actually just taking a walk and decided to bother you." He held his hand out to the younger man and helped him up.

"Okay then… Bye…" Zoro said awkwardly before rushing off towards the well… or so he thought.

"You're going the wrong way!" Shanks called.

The embarrassed teen made a u-turn and stalked in the right direction.

"So, I met the kid, Zoro?" Shanks informed Zeff over wine. "He seems like a nice enough guy. I think he might be kinda stupid though… How's Luffy?"

"Luffy's fine; he's dumber than the pup, though." The older man grumbled as he sipped his drink.

"You mean Zoro?"

"Yes, who did you think I meant? Robin?"

The afternoon light filtered in from the stained glass windows and created a beautiful effect on the wooden table that mesmerized the red head. "So, how is Sanji getting along with Zoro?"

"Fine."

"Have you told him yet?"

"No." Shanks was started to get annoyed with the one word answers.

"Well, you can't keep it from him forever. You'll have to tell him sometime."  
"I know."

The one armed man abruptly stood up in his chair, it made a most unpleasant noise as it was scraped across the floor and eventually fell to its untimely doom as the floor broke it into slightly smaller pieces of chair. "I mean, he deserves to know that he might end up marrying Zoro!"

"I'll tell him when I feel like it."

"If it were Luffy I would have told him right away."

The two men glared at each other for a minute before turning in different directions, pouting and nursing their wine. Although Shanks first opted to find a less broken chair.

**Okay, I know. It's short. But if I keep them a bit shorter it's easier to get them out faster. And oh my goshness! I finally have a chapter where it's not just about Zoro or Sanji! And another plot! That's two plots in one story! Wow. I'm so amazing… not really.**

**Um, I just felt like saying what he was wearing because I think that outfit looks really cute on him. **


	15. The Lonely Life of a Friendly Pillow

**Wow. Lately I've gotten a few comments saying that the fic hasn't gotten any worse. Is that bad? I mean, I'm kinda just doing this when I feel like it, and I don't think much on the chapters, but is it lame? D: I'm so frustrated. Oh yeah. I nearly forgot about this, but the book he was reading a few chapters ago was supposed to be "To Kill a Mockingbird." I didn't think it would be that hard. So, um, little mini contest thing is over. No one won.**

Zoro easily carried the full bucket down the hall, careful to avoid splashes, as he headed back to the kitchen. He made a few wrong turns and had to get directions a few times, but eventually made it back in one piece. Grumbling, the green haired man toed the door open and slipped inside. He turned and looked confusedly at the scene before him. All the earlier ingredients had been replaced; instead of the elements used for stir fry, there were eggs, milk, sugar, and others of the like sitting innocently on the counter.

"What happened?" He asked the blond, as he set the bucket on the counter next to the milk.

"I decided that you should make a cake instead." Sanji replied, humming happily and getting out the proper cake-baking utensils. "Here."

"This bowl has holes in it." Zoro stated dumbly while staring through the gaps with his good eye. His ears settled against his head as he tried to determine its use.

The prince just grinned and let his pet think it out for a while; watching him struggle was so much fun! After about six minutes Zoro gave up and stared hard at the other man, silently demanding that Sanji take away the source of his confusion, or at least tell him what it was for.

"It's called a colander, dumb ass. Rinse these cherries off in it." He handed the swordsman a box of cherries from the ice box.

Zoro dumped the cherries none too delicately into the stupid hole-filled bowl and poured water over them. He was secretly proud of himself for remembering to do this over the sink, lest he make a mess.

"Okay, now what?"

"Set those aside and come here." Sanji gestured to where he was standing by the counter. The wolf obeyed and once the blond was sure he was settled, he continued. "Okay, you're going to make whipped cream now. Just stir until it's really thick and then add these two things. You can do that, right?" The cook asked as he indicated the cream, sugar, and vanilla in turn.

"Yeah I can do that! I'm not stupid." Zoro growled indignantly as he took the bowl and spoon from the blond.

*3*

"I can't believe you made that much of a mess with whipped cream." Sanji muttered as he toweled his hair dry.

"It's not my fault." The green haired man defended himself from where he sat on his bed, already clean and reading a book.

"Yes it is! I said 'whip' not 'beat into oblivion!'" He threw the towel at Zoro who caught it easily and tossed it on the floor.

"Y'know, reading is a lot harder when you only have one eye." The Lycan murmured, squinting at the small text that seemed adamant in not letting him read it.

"You're such an idiot!" Sanji gripped, throwing himself onto his own bed in a huff.

Zoro grinned when he heard Sanji's muffled whine of "Why're you so obnoxious?" through the bedding.

"If you aren't careful, you'll suffocate. And I'm not gonna explain that one to the maids."

The swordsman's lopsided smirk turned into a contemplative pout as he returned to his book, effectively ruining the prince's pity party. The wolf soon grew tired of reading and opted for a little pre dinner nap instead. He hopped off the bed and stretched out on the floor. A pillow decided to make itself acquainted with his face. He removed the over friendly piece of bedding and glared at its accomplice. Sanji was looking back at him with slight confusion on his face.

"What?" He asked, tossing the pillow back. He didn't need its friendship.

"Why don't you just stay on the bed? Isn't it more work to get off the bed than to sleep on it?" He asked, setting the shunned piece of feathers and cloth back in its place. It was depressed that it didn't make a new friend and Sanji felt bad for it.

"I like the floor better." The tanned man shrugged as well as he could with his hands behind his head. The pillow's heart broke a little at the sight of the green haired man using his hands for the job of cushioning his head.

"You're weird. Did you know that?" The blond asked, pulling the abandoned pillow into his arms and laying on it. It felt slightly better than before.

"I was coming to that conclusion, but thanks for clarifying that fact." Zoro yawned sleepily and shut his eyes. His remorse about how he treated the pillow had faded a little but came back when he saw it being smothered by the prince's stomach and arms.

"Go to sleep." Sanji commanded, lobbing the pillow back to its original position. Now it felt even lonelier, it had been abandoned twice.

And later that night, after more rejection than a pillow should be forced to take, it threw itself to the floor and was picked up in the morning by the maids to be washed. There it was found to be too dirty and too torn up to be used by the prince ever again and was given to a very happy stable boy. He vowed to love the pillow for the rest of its life and promptly tested it out. The pillow was finally happy, saturated with drool, but happy.

**Uh… No, I have no idea why I put all that about the pillow on there. But I liked it. Honestly, that all kinda snowballed from where I put "He didn't need its friendship." I think there's something wrong with my head. This is really kind of a filler chapter while I think of stuff. And it was really short, but I figured you guys would be happy with **_**something**_** while I came up with stuff. There might be a few filler chapters. I don't know.**


	16. An Honest Proposal

**Damn! I just realized that I left out something really important in chapter 10! Zeff is supposed to ask Zoro if he can get pregnant and Zoro says yes… Sorry about that. I thought I put it in and I guess I didn't. And I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the thing about the pillow.**

Sanji trudged slowly toward the throne room. His father had requested an audience with him and he was worried. The blond didn't know what was going on but it probably wasn't good, so he was taking his time and walking as slowly as possible. In case the meeting ended up being something awkward, Zoro had been confined to the gardens, not that the wolf minded, so that the prince could keep it a secret and avoid teasing. He eventually reached his destination and glared silently at the large imposing door before him. Steeling himself, Sanji pushed the door open and walked in.

The first thing he noticed that was out of the ordinary was that Shanks was there, grinning as usual. The second thing was that his father looked almost as uneasy as he was. The third was the dark figure of Mihawk, a noble and a Lycan, standing quietly in the corner; that corner was the only area in the room that was dark.

"You wanted to see me?" Sanji asked, stepping up to the throne after he nodded in greeting to the other two men.

"Yes. I have something very important to discuss with you." Zeff paused and took a breath. "It's about your marriage."

"What about it?" The blond questioned slowly.

"Well, you are aware of how some male Lycans can become pregnant?" Sanji nodded. "Zoro is one of those."

The prince wasn't liking the direction the conversation was headed.

"And?"

"If we are unable to find you a suitable wife, you will have to marry him."

Sanji promptly fainted.

*3*

Zoro glared at Usopp and Luffy. They were currently clinging to tree branches that were just thin enough to not support the older teen's weight. He was plotting their murder to redeem himself after that embarrassing episode: Luffy had decided that he wanted to play fetch with Zoro, threw a stick, and Zoro quickly ran after it. Needless to say, the wolf was raving mad.

"You know I could cut this tree down in a second." He muttered darkly. "If you come down now, I might not kill you."

"Promise?" Luffy asked childishly.

"Luffy, don't listen to him! He'll kill us the second our feet touch the ground!" The goblin cried, shaking his dark haired friend by the shoulders.

"I promise I won't kill you." Zoro bargained, holding his right hand up in a pledge.

"See! He promised!" The teen yelled happily and, Usopp in tow, jumped down from the tree.

"Yep… Now I'm going to maim you." The swordsman gave a feral grin as they sped off in fright. He quickly gave chase.

"Zoro! You promised not to kill us!" Luffy cried.

"Maiming and killing are two different things!" He called after them; this was a game of fetch that he could enjoy.

*3*

After thoroughly beating the two boys to within inches of their lives, Zoro dozed in the cool grass. He was still a little suspicious about why he had been banished to the gardens, but he didn't mind. That meant he didn't have to endure anymore punishment for a few hours. After the cake incident, Sanji had decided that Zoro and cooking didn't really go together and thusly forced the wolf to clean. Since the prince didn't want to risk ruining the pink apron, he had given his pet a plain black one instead. The swordsman decided that he was more suited for cleaning, although he still sucked at it and had scared the hell out of the maid who tried to show him how to perform his tasks.

The green haired man soon fell asleep in the sunshine and had a very odd dream where Robin had sprouted five extra arms and was using them to simultaneously slap him, Sanji, Luffy, Franky, and Usopp. After waking up Zoro decided to avoid the woman in case she actually possessed that ability.

Eyes still closed, he attempted to fall back asleep, and after twenty minutes of not achieving any results, he got up and started to wander about.

He saw Sanji in the distance and jogged over to him. The blond seemed slightly perturbed about something but Zoro wasn't sure what. So he decided to remedy this issue by being annoying; that always seemed to cheer the prince up… Although he wasn't sure why he cared about how the other male was feeling.

"Hey, Curlicue, did your dog die?"

"Obviously not, you're still here." He replied, although there wasn't any bite in his voice.

"So what's the problem then?" The swordsman pestered.

"You might want to sit down for this." Sanji gently shoved the other man onto a nearby bench.

"Are you feeling okay? You're acting weird…" Zoro was slightly bothered by the cook's actions.

"!" He rushed out, turning around to hide the blush on his pale cheeks.

"What? I can't understand you when you mumble like that." The Lycan hoped he had heard wrong.

"My dad told me that we might have to get… married."

"Damn. I did hear you right. Well, this sucks." He muttered, resting his chin in his hand.

"Why aren't you more upset about this?" Sanji asked incredulously.

"Huh? Uh… I was kinda suspicious when your old man asked me if I could get pregnant. Same sex marriages aren't that uncommon in Lycans, so I figured it wasn't much different for humans. And we're both technically royalty, so it's not like you'd be marrying beneath you or something." Zoro then realized that he sounded like he wanted to marry the blond. "D-don't get me wrong or anything. I really have no intention of marrying you!" He waved his hands in a 'no way, Jose' gesture. "Maybe you'll find someone soon! Someone female!"

"… You're stupid."

**Yay! I got that one out quick. Finally we're getting somewhere! :D Maybe after this I'll write a story about the pillow from the last chapter… Not really. That would be kinda boring. Unless the pillow could, like, read the minds of the people who sleep on it. That would be cool.**


	17. Dreaming of You

**This might be the last chapter for a while… I dunno. I have an explanation on my profile. So, I'm sorry about how rushed it seems. I can't always think of things to make them longer. I use up most of my writing juice in English. And I'm totally, like, half brain dead right now because of all the projects that are due either this week or next (this week is my TAKS week). We had tornado warnings yesterday, so we were going into our hallway and we need to bring the animals. So I picked up one of my dogs, Frisco, (his full name is San Francisco de Calypso, awesome right? He's a Shiba Inu) and he started screaming (in the way that only Shibas can) and flailing his limbs and growling so I had to drop him. Then we were sitting in the hall with a majority of our animals and he started scratching on the door to be let in… I guess he got lonely. **

**I just finished reading a book with, like, the most insanely long chapters because of all the descriptive detail and imagery the author used. I especially enjoyed the part about the one guy whose head got cut off and he was running around spewing blood like a fountain. Lovely, right? So now I'm stuck in a fancy pants writing area of my brain so this chapter is gonna be kind of awkward.**

**Disclaimer (which I usually forget): I don't own this in any way shape or form, If I did Sanji would molest Zoro on a regular basis. **

Zoro snored softly on the floor, stretched out invitingly and half naked. The moon gave his caramel skin a tantalizing glow as it caressed him with its pale fingers. The dips and curves of his body where the gentle star couldn't reach were drenched in shadows. His silken tail was an eerie, yet striking, shade of green as it lazily flicked back and forth under the pool of liquid white. For once, the man's handsome face was relaxed and one could fully appreciate his perfect features. Almost perfect, for he still had that botch on his face; that little scar that ran over his eye and ruined the smoothness.

Sanji glared spitefully at the moon. He knew that he really couldn't find the wolf man appealing in any way, shape, or form. That evil orb was teasing him, making him feel things that he really didn't, because moonlight could make almost anyone appealing. That was the only reason that his heart fluttered slightly every time he spared a quick glance at the swordsman. The moon was taunting him, taunting him with the exotic looking male that was sprawled beautifully out over the cool marble.

"No, stop it…" The green haired man mumbled, almost whiningly, as he turned on his side and exposed the wide, flat plane of his hip.

The blond looked on. Was the Lycan having a nightmare? Honestly, the prince had no idea that was even a possibility. Zoro slept all day and all night long and never had the other man seen him jolt awake in fright, thrash about, break into a cold sweat. Nothing. He never talked in his sleep. Never a word. Loud nor soft, just nothing. No quickened breath, so why was he speaking now?

Sanji chanced getting closer to his pet. Slipping silently to the floor, he slowly crept nearer, closing the distance between himself and the strong body that was still being stroked softly by the moon. It seemed possessive of the wolf, like it wouldn't allow anyone else to touch that almost perfect body. Like when the sun fought the pale orb away, Zoro would be taken as well.

Finally narrowing the gap, the prince was close enough to feel the other male's breath ghosting across his skin, it gave him goose flesh as it ran over him. He stared intently at the man's face; the green haired man's eyebrows were drawing together as he continued to dream.

Finally sound broke the otherworldly silence. Zoro's mouth opened more, showing off little, glinting fangs. "That's my pie…"

He should have known. There was no way such a simple individual as the Lycan would ever have a nightmare. It just didn't happen. Just like the sun would never rise in the west, or like Vampires would never sparkle… Because, really, sparkling Vampires is just totally stupid and would never be believable in any scenario, unless they were attacked by unusually savage glitter.

*3*

"So… this marriage thing, how's it gonna work?" Zoro asked as he toed the ground with his slightly scuffed up boot.

He and Sanji had retreated to the gardens again. The green cathedral with its columns of trees and grassy carpet was one of the wolf's favorite locations. He was especially enjoying it now because of how electric everything looked in the summer. The grass was brighter, the flowers where amazingly vibrant, and even the gnarled bark seemed less dull. They were sitting on a bench near the fountain. Zoro was seated on the edge and had turned his head to stare at the rippling water. It cast an odd light over his face. It was caressing him just as the moon had. Sanji was in for some serious competition.

"I don't really know. I think that my old man's still trying to find me another bride. You're kind of Plan Z." The blond answered, he always enjoyed talking with the wolf man, even on awkwardly painful subjects such as their possible union. He didn't have to be a prince around the Lycan, he just had to be Sanji.

"Oh. Well, I sure feel special." He grumbled sarcastically. "Why'd he even bother telling you about it if I'm just a last resort?" A butterfly fluttered passed, landed briefly in Zoro's mossy curls, and flitted off again.

"I guess he wanted up to be prepared. Because it'd be even more awkward if we found out, like, after the wedding was already planned." Sanji offered, scrubbing his nails over his tunic.

"I still think the whole thing is stupid… And if we do get stuck being married, I'm not gonna have more than one kid with you." The swordsman gripped as he moved to sit on the ground, resting his back against the cool concrete of the fountain.

The blond sputtered. "W-what?" Which was about the most eloquent and coherent thing he could produce as he attempted to regain his breath.

"Well, the whole reason we might have to get married is because I could have your kid. I've seen pregnant people. It looks like it's worse than Hell. Plus, I'm gonna have to work really hard to get my body back to normal… again." Zoro was still clearly agitated about his captivity so few weeks ago.

The prince stared at his comrade with a bewildered gaze. Finally he found the ability to speak again. "Fine by me, I don't want to deal with pregnant you more than once, considering how you act normally."

Green, furry ears perked up at this statement and a tick appeared in the similarly colored eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean? You're way more bitchy than me!" He growled indignantly, scrambling to his feet to stare down the other male.

"See that? That was a bit of an overreaction right there." The blond supplied helpfully.

"Overreaction? What about the time you tried to kill me because I _sarcastically _said I had something to do with Nami leaving you?" The swordsman argued, crossing his arms.

Sanji was appalled, not to mention embarrassed as all get out. He had almost completely forgotten that incident and then Zoro, the obtuse(1) moron that he was, decided to bring it up. The proud prince turned his head to the side and let out a frustrated puff of air. He wasn't sure how he would ever get along with the tanned being next to him, let alone start a family. He just couldn't imagine the wolf man helping him run the country.

*3*

Sanji trudged, exhausted, back to his chambers. Being a king was extremely hard work. All day long he got indigent peasants pestering him about one thing or another. This one has too many kids, that one's chickens are getting eating by wolves, and that one wants him to legalize marriage to goats. He was sick and tired of the whiney brutes. The halls seemed to be mocking him; they stood in cold, stony silence against his grievances as he mourned his misfortunes. At last the blond happened upon his rooms. These walls were welcoming; the solid wood door seemed to reach out to him, beckoning the tired man in to sleep his troubles away. Sanji obliged the dead tree's offer and pushed it open quickly.

"Finally, they wouldn't go to bed until you got back." A familiar voice grumbled, not entirely unhappy, from the direction of the bed.

Zoro sat, hair pulled up, on the large feather bed, sinking into its plushness. Two small sets of eyes stared at the blond man who entered. A boy and a girl, around four or five, with tousled green hair and sleepy blue eyes where curled around the wolf. Both had small, furry ears peeking out from their mossy locks. They were dressed in their bed clothes, as was Zoro, but his were a bit less decent than theirs; he wore only a tunic, it was the prince's, if he wasn't mistaken. A book was resting in the scantily clad man's lap, keeping his privates private.

"There, you saw him, now give him a good night kiss and go to bed." The wolf laughed, pushing his toddler's off the bed.

They scrambled towards their father, who swept them up in his arms, and kissed him on each cheek. He kissed them on the foreheads in return and they scuttled off towards their room, which was attached to his.

Sanji quickly disposed of his boots, tunic, and other kingly items, and crawled under the silk covers, pulling the Lycan down with him. They kissed and Zoro turned around to lay his head on the other man's pale chest.

"I love you."

*3*

Sanji jolted awake, sitting up in bed. Breathing hard, aqua eyes wide open and hair mussed from sleep, his eyes darted around the room. They landed on a very confused and sleepy wolf man who was staring at him from his usual post on the floor.

"What? Have a nightmare where you're trapped on an island full of okamas?" He muttered, obviously unhappy that his slumber was interrupted.

Sanji slowly turned his head to the green haired man, one word escaped his lips. "Shit!"

**Well? What'd ya think? Was it awesome, or was it awesome? No, seriously, I think that was the longest, and most well written, chapter I've made. Um. In case anyone was wondering, that part with the kids was a dream. And the 'obtuse' part was because it's one of my vocab words in English right now and I wanted to put it in there. I only got two reviews on the last chapter. But I know there are more people reading it! I would love to hear what you guys think!**


	18. The Itsy Bitsy Spider

**Yay! I finished my big projects for this week and found out from my English teacher that we don't have to annotate the next book we read! Annotating sucks. Who cares what a simile is and what's not? I don't. Annotating kinda takes away from the story, I think, because you don't get to enjoy the book as much because you're analyzing it. Plus, now when I'm listening to songs, I think "hey, that's a simile" or "that's parallel structure." And my other friends are having that issue, too. Only not with music, just other books they're reading. **

**Anyway, I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter. And thanks for reviewing, everyone! It makes me happy. And sorry if the plot confuses everyone. Shadow didn't have a plot when she started this and so I'm kind of confused, too. But I'm working on it! **

**And I'm trying to get into the habit of putting a disclaimer. So, I don't own One Piece or anything else I may mention. Except the ideas for the story. And I keep starting sentences with 'and' even though you aren't supposed to.**

*3*

The fragrant scent of summer flowers floated across the lush grass, carried by a soft, cool breeze (1). The sun poked over the trees that guarded the lush gardens. They almost seemed like they weren't allowing it to enter, despite its longing gaze. Although eventually, around noon or before, the fiery orb would manage to intrude further into the green refuge. The red trespasser reached its warm rays out over the wooden sentinels to grasp at a sleeping figure who lay contentedly on the ground, unperturbed by its plight. Birds flitted about, silent except for their cheery songs that they shared with the world. A squirrel, scampering around in blissful unawareness, made the mistake of blissfully scampering across the slumbering beast that was being touched possessively by the sun.

Said beast jolted awake immediately, senses invaded with the smell of prey and the promise of an exciting chase. The squirrel, blissfully unaware no longer (2), dashed towards a tree. The guardian of all things small and powerless in the forest would surely save him from the green eyed monster (3) that seemed intent on eating him. It ran and leaped across the grass towards its solace.

Zoro just stared after it. After he recovered his senses, he realized that the small furry critter wasn't worth his time in the least. If he wanted something fun to chase, he would go find the curly haired goblin that he so loved to torment.

Deciding that he should at most make some semblance of an attempt at something productive, the wolf man stood and brushed the seat of his pants free of the clingy blades of grass. He swished his tail as well to make sure no more of the tenacious lawn was stuck in it and caringly gathered up his swords. The lacquered wood of the sheaths was warm under his calloused palms. The green haired swordsman trudged around the gardens, glancing the proximity for some insentient form that he could practice his swings on. He had once made the mistake of practicing on a tree, felling it in one blow, and had to face the wrath of the groundskeeper, a surprisingly frightening old man who Zoro hadn't cared to get the name of; he only cared about never crossing that man's path again (4).

The wolf man continued his purposeful stroll about the flowering maze. It seemed intent on not letting him leave. He would go left and somehow manage to end up to the right of where he was headed; he would go right and for some reason or another, he'd end up where he started. Once, the Lycan was headed towards the fountain in the middle of the garden and found himself at the castle doors. It suddenly occurred to him that the garden might be messing with him. It must still be mad at him for that incident with the tree. The mossy demon would continuously rearrange itself so that the swordsman became hopelessly lost.

Puffing out an annoyed breath of air, Zoro marched on, intent on finding a training dummy. After what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about twenty minutes, the wolf stumbled across a clearing that he was previously unaware of. In the middle of the clearing was another Lycan. A very dark one dressed in an ornate maroon tunic with flowery designs on it and a black cloak. A large hat with a feather on it was placed over the black wolf's face, obscuring it from the younger man's view.

The young swordsman noticed two important things at once; there was a large sword shaped like a cross lying next to the older wolf and said older wolf was now at his throat with a small dagger that had been concealed as a gold cross around his neck. Jumping away, a shit-eating grin found its way onto the teen's tanned face.

"Hey, you're just what I've been looking for!" He barked excitedly. Realizing how it sounded, he quickly amended himself. "I just mean, I was looking for somewhere to practice with my swords and if you wanted, we could have a match." He said, gesturing wildly with his clawed hands as he tried to explain himself to the pale skinned man.

Said pale skinned man regarded him quietly for a few minutes, assessing the other's skill. Zoro studied the other man in turn, feeling as though he recognized him from somewhere. It wasn't too long ago, if they had met, probably only a few months before he was captured. His poison green eyes scanned the mysterious Lycan and paused as they locked eyes. He knew where they had met. How could he have ever forgotten?

"Ah!" He pointed at the man, whose gold eyes opened slightly as a thin eyebrow was raised to show his interest. "You're Hawk Eyes Mihawk!"

Of course, how could he forget his idol? The man was so named for his eyes; they were different from other Lycan's in that the pupils were round and resembled those of a hawk. Zoro remembered, back when he was just seventeen he had found Mihawk and, filled with misplaced overconfidence and brave stupidity, challenged him to a fight. He had lost miserably, but the gold eyed man had decided to spare him, respecting the younger swordsman's honor.

"Yes, and you're Roronoa Zoro. Are you sure you can handle another fight with me?" His lips stretched into a thin smirk as he stared contemptuously at the boy. "After all, last time I almost killed you, and I was only using a three inch blade."

The wolf man's cheeks burned red in embarrassed anger, clashing with his hair. "Of course I can handle it! I've gotten a lot better since the first time we fought!" He cried indignantly.

"As you wish." The master swordsman murmured in concession, drawing his blade.

*3*

"Yeah, he's been avoiding me since last night. I don't know why, though. I didn't do anything different than usual." Zoro muttered as he sprawled, shirtless, in the grass.

Enjoying the contrasting feels of the sod as it cooled his back and of the sun as it warmed his chest, he told his worries to Mihawk, who had beaten him again, but with a smaller margin. The sweat dried on his body and his muscles began the familiar ache that one gets after a good work out.

The older man mulled over the teen's concerns as he stared at the sky with calculating eyes of molten gold. His hat was off and rested calmly on his sword. It was nearing noon.

"Maybe it was what he did different." He said at length, not taking his eyes off of the soft, wet cloud that puffed across the sky above them, heading towards the sun.

That thought stumped Zoro, who just pulled himself up into a sitting position. He analyzed the speculation thoroughly, turning it every which way. The tricky conjecture seemed intent on disallowing his brain from wrapping itself around it.

With a sigh of defeat, he flopped back onto the mossy carpet that welcomed him with open arms. "I don't get it."

"For such a reputable swordsman, you seem to be lacking highly in contemplative abilities." Mihawk smirked as he attempted to ruffle the boy's feathers.

"I am not!" Zoro's feathers had been sufficiently ruffled. "It's just, nothing about him lately seems any different than normal." Green eyes narrowed somberly as they confronted the blue canvas above them, marred only by the single cloud and the glaring sun. "Nothing really happened yesterday… Except I think he had a nightmare, but he wouldn't talk about it."

The wolf boy rolled over to rest on his stomach, his chest had started to burn under the harsh scrutinization from the sun. Humming contentedly as the grass cooled his torso with its soothing touch, the tan swordsman continued to think about what the older man had said.

*3*

Sanji, brows furrowed in annoyance, traipsed purposefully through the manicured lawns and colorful flowers. They reached at him with their bright petals, begging him to stop and admire them. The sun shone joyfully down on his head, highlighting his golden locks in a wonderfully captivating way. The garden wanted the prince to cheer up. Anger rolled off him in waves, causing people and animals alike to stray far from him.

He would concede that he had, for the most part, been purposefully ignoring and avoiding Zoro all day, after that terrifying dream last night, but that didn't mean that his pet didn't have to be right by his side the second he wanted him. Even to himself that thought sounded conceited and idiotic. Sighing, the blond continued his never-ending search for the swordsman. Eventually, as he found himself going deeper and deeper into the gardens, where the grass was slightly longer, the pale teen heard voices. He thought that one of the voices sounded like the gruff baritone of the green haired man but, at that distance, he couldn't be sure. So with a new destination in mind, Sanji trekked towards the voices.

The garden spider sat merrily on the edge of her web, digesting her tasty grasshopper drink. Her attention was called to an angry blond man as he trekked through her woods, swatting at the trees whose overgrown branches were groping at him. As he fended off the perverted foliage, the spider noticed that the blond wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him. Her multiple eyes widened as she saw his enraged face headed straight for her home. She waved her appendages at him to try and get him to duck, but it wasn't effective. Crawling farther to the edge of her web, the spider awaited the inevitable. Soon, the web that she spent so long building was torn apart and she struggled to hang on to a little strand of silk as it fluttered in the breeze.

The blond demon that destroyed her home gave off an extremely high pitched screamed and started smacking himself and turning in circles (5). She glared at him angrily. Serves him right, he wrecked her house!

Panting, Sanji stopped hitting flailing after he was entirely sure that no spiders had crawled on him. He felt like one had crawled into his mouth but that was how most people felt after walking through a web.

The blond continued his journey and finally found who he was looking for. Zoro was sitting on the ground, grinning at him in that infuriating way he had, next to Juraquille Mihawk.

The younger Lycan grinned at the flustered prince. "Was that you screaming?" He already knew the answer.

*3*

**(1) Gosh, that always makes me think of that stupid superhero by the Sketchers people, you know, Kewl Breeze or whatever?**

**(2)I repeated the blissful and unaware and scamper on purpose. **

**(3) Jealously!**

**(4) Um, I made this guy up because I couldn't think of any One Piece characters who fit the bill and the groundskeeper will never be important anyway.**

**(5) I hate it when that happens! Hitting yourself and flailing around are most peoples' reactions, though. Man, just writing that part made me feel like I was getting crawled on. Ugh!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had something important to say earlier, but I forgot what it was. Um, review please? They make me feel better about my writing even though I know for a fact that I write better than most sixteen year olds. One girl in my English class made a 20 on a writing assignment. I got a 70, I missed the thing about formatting so I got a sixty on that part and an 80 for content because I'm bad at impersonal writing. I cried really bad about that and my teacher took me outside and told me that it made her feel bad and let me sit outside until I felt better. Bad grades make me cry…**


	19. Why Horses Should Be Used for Food

**I am so mad right now. Twenty dollars went missing off my dresser, but I still have another forty. I wanted to go look at shoes, but I don't have my license yet, just a permit. So I can't drive myself and my dad won't take me. My sister won't either. **

**Printers are the spawn of Satan… **

**And I only got, like, four reviews for the last chapter. Seriously, guys, that depresses me. **

**A special thanks to Jay-chan. Your review made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.**

*3*

A fresh breeze tumbled and flew through a thick green maze of grass and foliage, impishly ruffling whatever it could lay its wispy fingers on. Soon, the breeze stumbled upon a group of three. It was excited to see something that it could toy with and gain a reaction from. The shrubbery usually ignored the wind, standing in wooden silence against its instigations. So, with a renewed sense of playfulness, the air current swept down on its unsuspecting victims.

The wind briskly started swiping at the hat of the dark one. The owner of the hat became irritated and clasped his clawed hand tightly around the brim of his hat. Rustling the feather aggravatedly, the wind tugged harder against the hand, trying to free the hat and maybe play a game of tag with its owner. After a few minutes of unsuccessful hat swiping, the wind turned to its new target. Said new target seemed greatly annoyed when the breeze twirled and tugged his sunny yellow hair, twisting it every-which way and blowing it into his face. After thoroughly bothering the blond, the wind decided to pester the third member of the little group. Sadly, his hair was too short to be properly messed with and anything else the wind did didn't bother the green haired man.

Bored and tired of unsuccessful provocation, the wind died down.

"Finally! I hate the wind; it always messes up my hair!" Sanji grumbled as he attempted to move his hair into some semblance of order.

Zoro grinned, which turned into a frown as Mihawk tugged him back onto the correct path. "Calm down, Princess." He muttered, swatting the clawed hand away. "It's just hair."

"Says the guy with sod growing out of his skull." The prince bit back rudely.

A tick formed in the tanned man's forehead, but he chose not to rise to the bait. "What did you need me for anyway; to protect you from more scary spiders?"

The blond whirled on his heel to face his pet, shoving out a finger and red seeping onto his cheeks. "That spider was huge! And it was crawling on me!"

"No it wasn't." Zoro argued. "It just felt like it. Stop being a pussy."

"If you two are quite done with your little lover's quarrel, I must be on my way." Mihawk informed them stiffly as he strode next to them.

"We aren't having a lover's quarrel!" The two princes griped simultaneously.

The older man just waved his hand at them in dismissal and sauntered off, presumably to bother Shanks about one thing or another. After a few more minutes of unhurriedly ambling towards the castle, the green haired man decided to break the fragile silence that had encompassed them.

"So… What did you need me for?" He asked slowly, staring steadfastly at the castle to make sure it didn't move. Building tended to do that sometimes.

"You still aren't through with being punished. I want you to go help Luffy and Usopp in the stables." The blue eyed man answered just as slowly, seemingly contemplating a puffy white cloud that passed over head. "Even you couldn't mess that up." He murmured under his breath.

"What?" Zoro's ears perked.

"Nothing." The blond replied, grinning slightly.

The puffy white cloud lazily puffed across the sky.

*3*

The horses snorted loudly and bellowed, kicking up dust with their impressive hooves. Their tails flicked at the flies that buzzed obnoxiously about the room, occasionally landing on one of the beasts' (1) ears. Stale fecal matter and hay stained the air that seeped into the humid room through the pane-less windows and open door. The already humid and acrid air was made even more humid and acrid from the large bodies and subsequent sweat from said large bodies. Zoro trudged grumpily across the sea of feces, rubber boots pulled up to his knees and shovel in hand. Scooping up a pile of the offending sludge, the man about faced to go dump it in the wheel barrow that stood outside.

Usopp and Luffy seemed accustomed to the scent, but the wolf man's sensitive nose was plagued with offending odors, causing his useable eye to water. There was a second problem that the Lycan encountered on his little escapade, a persistent niggling that something was watching him, with dark intentions in mind. Every time a paranoid glance was thrown over his shoulder, all he saw was the large, muted colors of fur and muscle.

As he began the daunting task of cleaning out one of the mustang's pens, he happened to look into its eyes. Zoro immediately knew what that feeling was; the horse wanted something from him, and he was deathly afraid that it involved intercourse, judging from certain parts of the large beast's anatomy. Slowly, ever so slowly, the tanned man lowered the shovel towards the muck that was thickly sucking at his boots and causing them to stick. The crazed look in the mustang's eyes reinvented itself with ten times the intensity as before; the swordsman had to escape, and fast.

Dropping his shovel with a squelching sound, the wolf lifted his legs to run, only to have his foot pop out of the boot. Not bothering to pull it out, as the monster had begun charging, he made a flying leap of faith towards the wooden rails and safety. Flinging his arms around the thick beams, he launched his body away from the pen and scrambled out of the stable, losing his other boot in the process.

With his hands on his now dirty knees, Zoro gasped in large breaths of clean air.

"What happened to you? You look like shit." Sanji muttered smugly as he sauntered up to the panting man.

"… I think horses are devil creatures and should be harvested for their meat…" The green haired man griped as he stalked off towards the castle.

*3*

**Yeah, sorry about how short this one was. And the whole horse rape and meat harvesting thing came from an amazing artist called theOatmeal. He has a book, it's called "Five Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Nose." He's so hilarious. **

**I don't actually know if I should have put beasts' or beast's. Any clue?**


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